


The Light

by MangoKat



Series: Team Red Family [3]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 37,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28932936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MangoKat/pseuds/MangoKat
Summary: Part 3 of Team Red Family seriesHealing is a long and difficult process. V.I.L.E caused so much pain and damage that everyone is struggling to recover from it. Everything feels like it's broken beyond repair, and now there's a new threat looming over them.The Spider controls everything from the shadows and now she has her sights set on taking down Team Red and Team Crackle. Team Shadow is coming for them, whether they're ready or not.
Series: Team Red Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533365
Comments: 55
Kudos: 97





	1. Team Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I took off the holidays as a reward for finishing Broken! I've never finished a fanfic before and so I felt very proud of myself. lol This new fic is going to be quite long, but will not be crazy long like Broken. I'm working on a novel and am going to be splitting my time between the two projects. I'm going to aim to have a new chapter out every 2 weeks like before, but the chapters will not be as long. (no more 20k word chapters lol) This first intro chapter is only 3500 words but from now on chapters will be between 5k-10k in length.
> 
> An enormous thank you to the very awesome Violetfic and Coulrosaurus for offering plenty of good suggestions, and for being my betas! They both seriously offered SO many suggestions for this fic that they both deserve some recognition! You guys really helped improve this story a lot and you're awesome!
> 
> Please note that several characters use the F-word extremely frequently in their everyday speech. You have been warned. 
> 
> Dr. Vess was created by Violetfic, and I am using him with her permission.
> 
> If there are any artists who would like to draw for this story, please let me know and I'll add your artwork to the chapter so everyone can see it!
> 
> If you're enjoying the story so far, please let me know your thoughts. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms as it helps me improve the story.
> 
> Happy Reading!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Light**

**Chapter 1**

**Team Shadow**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Scotland was incredibly bitter in the winter. The water constantly looked stormy and black, and the air felt heavy and biting.

The European V.I.L.E base was in remote Scotland along the Northern coast. The faculty didn’t spend much time at this base, but this was a special circumstance.

Countess Cleo tapped her fingers impatiently on the table but she didn’t say a single word. She looked tired and not as much care had been put into her appearance as usual. Seeing her so worn down was unsettling and no one else dared comment about it. 

“When exactly is she going to arrive?” Maelstrom demanded, stirring a cup of tea absentmindedly, “I’d rather not spend the entire day in this...castle.”

Brunt narrowed her eyes at him. “As long as it takes,” she replied, “We royally screwed up, so it’s no surprise that the director is on her way here. We’d better hope she doesn’t decide to mindwipe the lot of us!”

Roundabout fumbled in surprise, dropping a stack of paperwork and the sheets scattered in all directions.

Brunt continued, pretending she didn’t notice. “Bellum went against our code and branched out on her own. She put all of V.I.L.E at risk and there are going to be consequences because of this.”

Cleo downed her glass of wine and closed her eyes, still remaining silent.

“I fail to see why we had to come here,” Maelstrom complained, “Why couldn’t she come to our tropical base instead?”

Brunt gave him a disapproving look. “The Spider does not leave Europe,” she responded, “Ever.”

Maelstrom rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. None of the others seemed to realize he’d taken part in the Volkov lab scheme, and so he played things cool and had no intention of fessing up. It was a shame to lose all that research, but the results had been incredibly fascinating. The children he’d indoctrinated to evil would be neuro-divergent for years because of it. It would have been interesting to see the end results of the education, but it clearly wasn’t meant to be.

“Roundabout, are you nearly done being a flake?” Brunt demanded, glancing over at him.

Roundabout looked up from picking up his paperwork and flushed. “Er...just about,” he responded.

The doors suddenly swung open and two men entered, each holding a briefcase. They closed the doors after them, and then began approaching the faculty table without a word.

“Er...can I help you gentlemen?” Brunt demanded in confusion.

“We are here on behalf of the director,” one of the men announced, setting his briefcase on the table.

He had a thick Burundi accent and his eyes were an icy blue, startling against his dark skin. His partner was fair-haired and absolutely covered in freckles and he seemed content to let his partner take charge.

“Excuse me?” Maelstrom demanded, “Are you telling me the director made us come all the way to Scotland and she didn’t even bother to show up?”

“I am known as codename Scorpion and my partner is codename Viper,” the man said, “We are the director’s liaisons and you would do well to show respect. Spider is **incredibly** busy trying to fix **your** mistakes, and she wasn’t able to make this little meeting.”

Maelstrom narrowed his eyes. “She considers a meeting with all the head faculty a ‘little meeting’?”

“Indeed,” Scorpion replied, taking a seat beside his partner, “She has much bigger things in the works right now.”

“Oh?” Brunt questioned with a frown. “Like what?”

“If she wishes to inform you of her plans then she will,” Scorpion said firmly, “Now I would like to begin this meeting. Our chopper is set to leave in ten minutes and so we don’t have a long time.”

“I think this is highly insulting and inappropriate,” Roundabout commented, “She fobbed us off to henchmen!”

“This matter can be dealt with by us,” Viper assured him, revealing a Romanian accent, “We were hand-picked by Spider herself, and outrank all of you.”

Maelstrom and Roundabout’s eyes widened at the implications of this. 

“You’re here to discuss Saira,” Cleo said, speaking up for the first time.

Scorpion and Viper glanced over at her and then nodded. 

“Yes, Doctor Bellum has created a large problem.”

“We haven’t been able to get her back…” Cleo said, her tone sounding defeated, “A.C.M.E has hidden her somewhere out of our reach. There’s no record of her arrest at all.”

Viper opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of paperwork. He slid it over to Cleo whose gaze immediately settled on a mugshot of Doctor Bellum. Bellum was bruised, bloody and scowling at the camera.

“You found her!” Cleo exclaimed in delight.

“We did,” Scorpion confirmed, “Bellum will be taken care of, and you no longer need to waste resources on her.”

Cleo hesitated. “Taken care of **how**?” she asked, “You’re rescuing her...right?”

Scorpion and Viper exchanged a look and then shrugged. “That is not our mission and we don’t know the answer to it.”

“Then what do you want with us?” Roundabout asked, clearly starting to get nervous. 

Scorpion opened his own briefcase and pulled out several folders. “This is what you’re permitted to know of Spider’s upcoming plans. You will make all efforts not to interfere and you are to help when it is requested.”

The four head faculty each took a folder and opened it. What they saw made their eyes grow wide and they were speechless.

“Is she serious?” Cleo demanded.

“These are the beginnings of her plan,” Scorpion replied, “You’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg, but she expects you to fulfill your roles perfectly. Spider is smoothing things over from the lab incident, but we cannot afford another mess like that.”

Maelstrom flipped through the first few pages of the document and when he looked up, he was clearly unnerved.

“What do you need us to do?”

“We will explain everything,” Scorpion replied.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael Finnegan Senior approached the glass wall and took a seat to wait for his visitor. His wife visited him now and then but her visits were becoming less and less frequent. He’d gotten life in prison, and he had a feeling she was planning on divorcing him. He’d never allow it, and she would **not** get away with something like that. His lawyers were already working on getting him out, and he was confident he'd be out within months once key evidence began disappearing.

His wife’s bastard son MJ had somehow managed to escape, and it was infuriating that he’d been left behind. That idiot managed to escape, but he was still left to rot. He had a feeling his wife was somehow responsible and he was fully prepared to give her a piece of his mind once she arrived. She’d always been too soft on that boy, and he was completely useless because of it. He regretted ever allowing the boy to return, and vowed to throw him to the gutter once he got out.

Mr. Finnegan looked up when the door opened and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. Spider delicately took her seat and piercing green eyes slowly looked him up and down.

“Mr. Finnegan,” she greeted, “You’ve certainly seen better days.”

Michael Sr. quickly masked his surprise and became professional in his demeanor. “Spider, this is quite...unexpected.”

“Oh?” she questioned, “Is it now? Did you really expect to mess up so spectacularly and not catch my attention?”

Mr. Finnegan winced.

“The loss of the Finnegan Empire was inconvenient, and as you know, I detest the unexpected.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Mr Finnegan protested, “It was that little bitch, Carmen Sandiego! She ruined everything!”

Spider tsked him, and crossed her arms. “You allowed your false child to trick you, and you fell for it. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Carmen Sandiego is smart and she-”

“I was not referring to her,” Spider snapped, “Are you really so dumb that you haven’t seen it?”

Mr. Finnegan simply stared at her. “...what are you talking about?”

Spider let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. “Michael Jr. played you for a fool. He planned from the start to take you down and you didn’t suspect him for even a moment! Didn’t you wonder why a child so horrifically abused by you would willingly return and ask to work for your company? Didn’t you think this was odd?”

Mr. Finnegan gaped at her and shook his head. “No, MJ is far too stupid to ever trick me. He was a broke bum living on the streets and needed the cash. I let him return out of the kindness of my heart, and even let him work directly under me.”

“Michael Jr. was never a bum living on the streets,” Spider informed him, “He is the Volkov heir, and is even richer than you are. He lied to you and you fell for it.”

Mr. Finnegan shook his head again. “No, impossible.”

“Michael Jr. was the one who stole the harddrive from your office, he was the one who framed V.I.L.E, and he was planning on selling the harddrive to your competitors.”

“...he was the one who tried to assassinate me.”

Spider smiled at him widely. “Ah, now you’re getting it. You under-estimated him, and because of that you lost everything.”

Mr. Finnegan felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. Spider had no reason to lie to him, and that meant Michael had betrayed him. He tried to think back of anything suspicious the boy may have done, but he’d mostly ignored him. Michael had free range of the business, and he’d stabbed him in the back.

“Why are you telling me this?” Mr. Finnegan demanded, feeling absolutely murderous.

“I will be removing you from this jail shortly, and I need to make sure you do as I say. You have contacts that I need you to utilize on my behalf.”

Mr. Finnegan narrowed his eyes. “And if I refuse?”

Spider then smiled at him in an unnerving way. “Have you been wondering why your wife and family haven’t been coming to visit you?”

Mr Finnegan narrowed his eyes. “What have you done?”

Spider removed a photograph out of her coat pocket and laid it against the glass. He stared at it for a moment then let out a strangled cry. His children were dead in the picture, blood and gore turning his stomach.

“Three of your children are now dead,” Spider informed him, “You can consider this punishment for everything you did. You only have two biological children left and if you don’t do everything you’d told, you will find the Finnegan bloodline will end with you.”

Mr. Finnegan roared in anger and slammed his fists against the glass. Spider watched him for a moment, and then placed the picture back in her coat pocket. 

“Someone will be by within a few days to speak with you,” she stated, “If you decline to help, you can stay in here for the rest of your life childless and wifeless. The decision is yours. Right now your wife and remaining two children are safe, but that won’t be for long.”

Mr. Finnegan screamed and threw the chair against the glass and several officers rushed into the room to restrain him. He screamed and swore and fought, and Spider watched all of this silently. Once he was dragged from the room, she straightened her coat, and headed for the door without another word.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The corridor was dark and completely silent. Two lone figures stood waiting outside the massive wooden door and one of them was clearly on edge as he paced back and forth. They’d been waiting for nearly ten minutes and no one had approached them yet.

“This is bad, isn’t it?” Spinkick whispered, “There’s no way the head faculty want to see us for anything good...”

Flytrap grimaced and said nothing.

“V.I.L.E **never** pulls operatives back during the middle of a mission! Everything was going fine, but they cancelled our mission! I was doing awesome!”

“I know,” Flytrap responded uneasily.

“Are we getting fired?!” Spinkick demanded, “Did we screw up anything recently?”

Flytrap silently shook her head. Their missions had been going extremely well lately and she couldn’t think of a single thing they did wrong.

“What do they do to operatives when they fire them?” Spinkick asked, “Are they planning on killing us?”

Flytrap shuddered and she hugged her arms to her chest anxiously. Spinkick saw her unease and was instantly fired up.

“I won’t let them get rid of us!” he announced loudly, “They won’t lay a finger on you as long as I’m around!”

“Shh!” Flytrap scolded, shooting a nervous glance to the door.

Spinkick wasn’t listening however and he kicked and punched the air aggressively. “I’ll fight until my death!” he vowed, “No one will ever hurt you!”

“A little on the dramatic side, don’t you think?” came a voice from behind them.

They both spun around and came face to face with a pretty young woman they’d never met before. The woman was tall, with tan skin and a figure and face like she could be a model. 

Spinkick instantly didn’t like her. He jumped in front of Flytrap and puffed up his chest aggressively. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Codename Driver,” the woman responded, looking unconcerned with Spinkick’s antics.

Spinkick narrowed his eyes. “And what do you want?” he demanded, “Why are you here?”

“I was summoned here,” Driver replied with a careless shrug, “I have no idea what it’s about.”

“Same,” Flytrap responded, giving another uncertain glance to the door, “We were in the middle of a mission when we were summoned.”

Driver’s eyes widened slightly but she didn’t comment.

Hearing heavy footsteps approaching, they glanced down the hall and saw the biggest man they’d ever seen. The man was easily over seven feet tall and his body was pure muscle. His expression was set into a scowl, and his blond hair was shorn into a short military haircut. When Driver’s gaze fell on him she rolled her eyes.

‘“Ugh,” she commented.

Spinkick was instantly threatened by the enormous man and he stood up as straight and as tall as his 5’6 frame allowed. He looked the other man up and down and felt certain he could take him in a fight. He began posturing aggressively, but the large man ignored him.

“Who are you?” Spinkick demanded, “V.I.L.E send you here to fight us?!”

The man didn’t seem concerned with Spinkick and his gaze settled on Driver. “Hello, Cherry,” he greeted.

“It’s Cherise,” Driver snapped, “How do you **still** not know my name?”

“Whatever,” the man replied.

“You know this brute?” Spinkick demanded.

Driver nodded. “This is Jesse, codename Rhino,” she introduced, waving a hand at him dismissively, “He was in my year.”

“Were you asked to come here too?” Rhino asked with a frown.

Driver nodded. “None of us know why we were summoned. These two were yanked out of a mission to attend.”

Rhino scratched at his head. “Huh.”

“The faculty are up to something!” Spinkick exclaimed, “I think they’re going to kill us!”

“I’m sure that’s not it,” Flytrap assured him, “This must be about something else.”

The doors suddenly began to open and they were met with the sight of Brunt.

“All of you here?” she demanded, looking at them expectantly.

“How would we know?” Spinkick retorted, “No one told why we’re here!”

“Oh...right,” Brunt replied, motioning them inside, “Hurry up, everyone in.”

The four operatives entered the room apprehensively, and they were met with the sight of the other three faculty waiting for them. 

Spinkick squared his shoulders and strode over to the table fearlessly, and the others followed behind a little more subdued.

“Good evening, operatives,” Maelstrom greeted as Brunt took her seat.

“Good evening, Professor Maelstrom,” Flytrap responded, flashing him a charming smile, “And good evening Instructor Roundabout, Countess Cleo and Coach Brunt.”

Her politeness seemed to ease the tension in the room and Maelstrom responded with a nod.

“I suppose the four of you are wondering why you’ve been summoned here?” he asked.

“Yeah!” Spinkick answered, clenching his fists, “We’re good operatives!”

“Well, you certainly seemed to impress the director,” Roundabout stated.

“The who?” Spinkick demanded.

“Our boss,” Brunt replied, “The leader of V.I.L.E.”

The operatives all stared at her in shock, no one even considering the possibility the head faculty weren’t actually in charge.

“Carmen defected and created her own team, as you all know. We then created a Team of our own with Crackle as leader to destroy Carmen’s team. It didn’t go as planned, and Crackle’s entire team defected and helped the enemy bring down Doctor Bellum,” Roundabout explained.

Everyone’s gaze went to the empty faculty chair, and Cleo’s eyes hardened.

“The director also known as codename The Spider is taking over the Carmen Sandiego situation,” Roundabout explained, “You are no longer working for us, but instead Spider is forming a new team that she will personally oversee.”

“A team?” Rhino repeated, “I don’t work well with others.”

“Tough shit,” Brunt snapped, “She’s creating a team of eight and you four apparently made the cut.”

“I’d like to decline,” Rhino stated, “People who work with me end up getting snapped in half.”

“Once again, tough shit!” Brunt responded, “You have no choice in this! If the Spider wants you, then she gets you! You each have been issued new communicators, new ear-pieces, and new uniforms. You’re to leave immediately and fly to the good ‘ol USA.”

“...am I in charge of the team?” Spinkick demanded.

“No, that would be me,” said a voice from the shadows.

Everyone spun around and stared as Lady Dokuso stepped out of the shadows, her expression as imperious as always.

“Who are you?” Spinkick demanded, “Why is an old woman in charge of us?!”

“Shh!” Flytrap hissed at him, “That’s Lady Dokuso! She’s one of V.I.L.E’s top operatives! She’s been working for V.I.L.E for over forty years!”

Spinkick squinted at her. “...oh.”

“That’s right, Flytrap, Lady Dokuso is an extremely talented operative, and she will be the new team leader. Only Spider will be above her in position.” Cleo explained.

“You mean we don’t have to listen to you guys anymore?” Spinkick asked in surprise.

Cleo’s expression pinched and she let out a deep sigh. “No, from now on we have no authority over you. You will obey all orders from Spider.”

Rhino glanced at his new unwanted teammates and then frowned. “Who are the other three people?” he demanded, “You said there were eight.”

“Yo,” said a sudden voice from over the speakers.

Everyone looked up and the screen above the faculty turned on, showing an extremely overweight Asian man seated at a computer terminal.

“This is The Troll,” Brunt said in distaste, “He will be your tech guy. He will help with all missions and he has complete clearance of the V.I.L.E servers.”

“Why aren’t you here in person?” Spinkick demanded, “Where are you?”

Troll gave him an infuriating smirk. “Wouldn’t **you** like to know, spitfire!”

“The name is **Spinkick**!”

“Right,” Troll responded with a roll of the eyes, “I’m the tech guy so I don’t actually need to be there in person. I will be working remotely.”

“Alright, but who are the other two members?” Spinkick demanded.

“You will be picking up operative Earwig in Portland, Oregon in two day’s time,” Maelstrom informed them, “She will meet you downtown.”

“Earwig?” Driver repeated, “What a disgusting codename.”

Brunt burst out laughing and gave her a knowing smile. “Just wait until you meet her, sugar, there’s a lot to a name.”

“And the eighth person?” Rhino asked.

“Unknown at this time,” Roundabout said, “This was information that was not shared with us. The eighth member will be meeting you in several weeks.”

“I don’t like this…” Flytrap said uneasily.

“No, I think this is going to be awesome!” Spinkick announced, “Just imagine all the people we’re going to fight! Maybe I’ll finally get to kick Carmen Sandiego right in her stupid smug little face!”

“Hmm,” Flytrap said uneasily.

“Lady Dokuso has been thoroughly briefed and so from this point onward, you will direct all questions to her.”

“A plane is waiting for you on the airstrip and you’re to leave immediately,” Brunt informed them, “Spider will be in contact with you soon.”

Lady Dokuso nodded and then waved for her team to follow her. Most didn’t look very happy with this situation, but they obediently turned to follow.

“Good luck, Team Shadow,” Brunt called after them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**TBC**

**I will aim to have the next chapter out within 2 weeks. :)**

**Credit for the names of Otterman and Moose Boy go to Animedemon01**

**Comments make the author happy! ^_^**

**Please don't forget to let me know what you think!**


	2. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of Team Red Family series
> 
> Healing is a long and difficult process. V.I.L.E caused so much pain and damage that everyone is struggling to recover from it. Everything feels like it's broken beyond repair, and now there's a new threat looming over them.
> 
> The Spider controls everything from the shadows and now she has her sights set on taking down Team Red and Team Crackle. Team Shadow is coming for them, whether they're ready or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be because I've been lacking motivation to do anything lately. I'll do my best to get it out in a couple weeks.
> 
> An enormous thank you to the very awesome Violetfic and Coulrosaurus for offering plenty of good suggestions, and for being my betas! They both seriously offered SO many suggestions for this fic that they both deserve some recognition! You guys really helped improve this story a lot and you're awesome!
> 
> Please note that several characters use the F-word extremely frequently in their everyday speech. You have been warned.
> 
> Dr. Vess and Karam were created by Violetfic, and I am using them with her permission.
> 
> If there are any artists who would like to draw for this story, please let me know and I'll add your artwork to the chapter so everyone can see it!
> 
> If you're enjoying the story so far, please let me know your thoughts. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms as it helps me improve the story.
> 
> Happy Reading!

**XXXXXXXXXX** **XXXXXXXX**

**The Light**

**Chapter 2**

**Alone**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Carmen placed an arm around Chase’s shoulders who didn’t once take his eyes from the door. Diana had been in surgery for over twelve hours, and he was a nervous wreck. He’d argued vehemently with the doctors wanting to stay by her side, but in the end, Carmen and the others had to drag him away as the doctors took her into surgery. Chase had yelled and struggled against them, but in the end, he finally allowed them to drag him to the waiting area.

Carmen and Mime Bomb both let them know they were universal donors in case she needed blood, but so far no one had approached them.

“No news is good news,” Julia said for what felt like the hundredth time, “She’s going to be fine, Chase.”

Chase muttered a few words in French and still didn’t look away from the door. He’d refused all offers of food or drink, and hadn’t so much moved an inch out of his seat.

Everyone had gotten their injuries seen to, and Neal was by far the worst out of both teams. His shoulder and leg were both broken and he was going to be out of commission for months. His limbs were in a lot of pain, but he was still in bright spirits. He was telling Player and everyone else within earshot a long and entertaining story about a mission that had gone horribly wrong and he was successfully keeping the mood light.

Dash was sitting by Neal’s side, feeling guilty the other man was so injured. Neal had come to fight Bellum because he’d asked, and so Dash knew all of this was his fault. If he had been a bit stronger, he would have been able to handle Bellum on his own. Dash was the only one out of their team who had never graduated from the academy and he knew he was holding them back.

“Neal, you should be resting!” Dash protested.

Neal rolled his eyes and continued on with his story, ignoring any nagging coming from Dash’s direction. 

Crackle wanted them to leave the hospital as soon as possible, but Siren was still being examined by the doctors. They wanted to run a few additional tests, and he was anything but cooperative. He still hadn’t said a word to anyone and he refused to let go of his brothers for even a moment. If anyone got too close to him, he’d screech, and Roose ended up having to pin him down so he could be examined. Siren screamed and struggled the entire time he was being examined and when his wounds were being cleaned and bandaged, he’d cried like he was being murdered.

The doctors asked Theodore and Roosevelt endless questions about Siren, but they didn’t know the answers to any of them. They had no idea what had been done to their brother, and they had no idea if he was on any sort of medications. Hoping for answers, they searched his pockets and found a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a V.I.L.E card, and an Ipod. Nothing of any use.

Unable to get any answers, the doctor wanted to run several tests to see if Siren was on any sort of drugs. The doctor asked about the feeding tube in Siren’s stomach, but they also knew nothing about that.

The twins refused to leave his side for even a moment, and Siren refused to let go of them. When Crackle had wandered a bit too close for comfort, Siren had kicked at him, and so everyone gave him his space. Crackle was nervous about staying here for too long, but he knew Siren needed help and they needed to find out what Vess did to him. Once the doctors said it was safe to take Siren, they would be disappearing until everything with A.C.M.E blew over.

Carmen told them Siren had seemed perfectly alright just earlier that day, and so something had happened during the fight. There was no sign of a head injury, and so she said they had to assume Vess drugged him. Crackle disagreed with this assumption, and he was honestly worried that they had done the same thing to Siren that Bellum and Vess had done to him. The confusion was eerily familiar, and Crackle knew the mind eraser left no physical marks.

When the doctor finally emerged out of surgery, Chase shot to his feet in an instant.

“How is she?” he demanded, “Can I see her?”

“Your daughter did extremely well, and the surgery was perfect. She’s an incredibly strong little girl, and she’s a fighter.”

Chase sagged in relief. “Can I see her?” he repeated.

The doctor nodded. “Only one person at a time,” he cautioned, “She’s still asleep, but you can sit with her as long as you don’t try to wake her.”

Chase nodded and immediately tried to charge past the doctor.

“Wait, wait!” the doctor cried out, “I’ll take you to her. You can’t just walk through the O.R!”

Chase flashed him an impatient look and so the doctor motioned for him to follow and he headed for the nearby elevators. Chase glanced back at the rest of his team and then hurried after the doctor.

Chase felt both terrified and excited as the doctor led him to where Diana was taken. The doctor opened a door and Chase’s gaze immediately went to his daughter asleep in the bed.

“She’s going to be extremely weak for a long time, but she should make a full recovery,” the doctor informed him, “She’ll need to remain in hospital for a minimum of a month and then for the next year she’ll have to take things very slowly.”

Chase nodded and took a seat beside Diana’s bed. “Can I hug her?” he asked hesitantly.

“If you’re very  **very** careful,” the doctor cautioned, “She’ll need to be carried to and from the restroom until she’s strong enough to do it for herself. When you lift her, be careful not to jostle her, and if any of her stitches rip, press the nurse call button.”

Chase frowned at the doctor. “When will she wake up?”

“She should wake within the next couple hours,” the doctor replied, “Once she does wake, make sure she doesn’t get over-stimulated.”

Chase nodded, and gently ran his fingers through Diana’s long dark hair.

“Someone will be in to check on her in an hour,” the doctor said, turning towards the door.

“Thank you,” Chase said, never feeling more grateful about anything in his life, “Thank you for saving my daughter.”

The doctor offered him a smile and he nodded as he left the room. Once they were alone, Chase let the tears fall and he leaned down to hold his daughter close.

He sat there for less than half an hour when suddenly Carmen burst into the room. “The Volkovs just contacted us. A.C.M.E knows we’re here, and they’re on their way to arrest us. They’ll be here within twenty minutes. The Volkovs sent vehicles to pick us up and we need to leave right now.”

“I can’t!” Chase exclaimed, “Diana!”

“There’s a Volkov doctor ready to take over her care. He’s waiting on the plane for us, and we need to leave  **now** .”

Chase let out a curse. He knew if A.C.M.E ever got their hands on him, he’d likely never see the light of day again. He’d never get the chance to see Diana grow up, and she’d likely never remember him.

“You’re sure this is a good doctor?” Chase demanded, “They know she just had a double transplant?”

Carmen nodded. “My grandfather assured me that he’s the best doctor in all of Russia.”

Chase cursed again and looked down at Diana. Knowing he didn’t really have a choice, he wrapped her in blankets and very gently lifted her into his arms. Unhooking the various I.Vs, he set the bags on Diana’s chest and then adjusted her carefully. Without a word to Carmen, he headed for the door and she led him where the rest of the two teams were waiting. Roosevelt carried Siren in his arms who didn’t seem like he had any idea what was going on, and Crackle and Dash helped support Neal.

No one seemed to notice the large group of patients escaping out the door and just moments later, they were crawling into enormous black vans. Chase looked down at Diana and hoped he wasn’t making a terrible mistake.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

True to the Volkovs’ word, a doctor was waiting for them at the plane with all of his medical gear ready. He jumped into immediate action with DD and hooked her up to new I.Vs and gave her a very careful examination. Chase hovered over the doctor worriedly as he worked, and finally he glanced up at Chase.

“She’s stable,” he confirmed, “I’m going to closely monitor her over the next few days, but her vitals are all steady, and her incision site looks fine.”

Chase let out a breath of relief, and took a seat next to DD’s stretcher so he could wrap an arm around her.

“Thank you,” Chase told him, “I was worried I’d made a terrible mistake removing her from the hospital.”

“Normally that would be something I’d advise against, but considering the circumstances, you did everything you could,” the doctor replied, “The Volkov surgeon is on hand at the manor just in case anything goes wrong. The both of us will be taking care of your teams.”

“Can you look at our brother?” Theodore suddenly asked.

The doctor glanced at Siren who was clinging to Roosevelt’s arm and not looking at anyone.

“What happened?” the doctor asked, “Where is he injured?”

“We think Doctor Vesalius did something to him,” Crackle explained, “He’s completely unresponsive and he hasn’t said a word since we rescued him.”

“Hmm,” the doctor said thoughtfully, approaching Siren curiously.

Siren wasn’t looking at him as he approached, but the moment he got too close he kicked him solidly in the hip.

The doctor let out a curse in Russian and backed up a step.

“Delano!” Roosevelt scolded, flashing the doctor an apologetic look, “He won’t let anyone near him.”

The doctor knelt down at a safe distance and stared into Siren’s eyes, and he gave a thoughtful noise. 

“I’ll need to run some bloodwork to see if he’s drugged.”

“The doctors in Moscow drew blood but we had to leave before we got the results back,” Crackle explained, “He was fine when he was speaking with Carmen earlier.”

Carmen nodded. “He was nothing like this when we spoke,” she confirmed, “...although there have been a few days where he was unreachable and he claimed he was sick…”

“He seemed fine when we saw him too,” Zack spoke up, “He said he had a mission of his own when we met in the lab, and he ran off.”

“Hmm,” the doctor said, edging a bit closer to Siren.

Siren made a noise of distress and clung tighter to Roosevelt.

“I won’t touch you,” the doctor promised, “I just want to take a closer look.”

He stared at Siren’s stressed expression and then backed away slowly. “I’m going to look up the test results,” he informed them, “Hopefully that will reveal what happened.”

As the doctor crossed the plane to where his equipment was set up, Mime Bomb stared at Siren, feeling devastated. Crossing the room, he hesitantly approached Team Crackle who were instantly tense. Roosevelt growled at him protectively, and Mime Bomb gently reached out and took one of Siren’s hands.

Siren looked like he was about to lash out, but his gaze focused on Mime Bomb and he stilled. He squeezed Mime Bomb’s hand tightly and to everyone’s shock, he let go of Roosevelt so he could cling to the mime instead. Mime Bomb gently brushed Siren’s hair out of his face, and then wrapped an arm around him. Mime Bomb had no idea what had been done to Siren, but he felt responsible for it. They had all come to save him, and he’d allowed Siren to go off on his own. He should have gone with him, he should have helped him, or he should have taken him with them.

Mime Bomb hugged Siren tightly and felt tears come to his eyes. He was tired of losing people, and tired of seeing everyone around him getting hurt. Siren allowed the hug and simply seemed more confused than ever.

“You know our brother?” Theodore demanded.

Mime Bomb nodded and glanced over towards Zack. He began to sign and Zack dutifully translated.

“I owe him my life,” Zack said, “He rescued me from the lab when I was a child, and he helped me when Vess tried to kill me. I owe him everything.”

“Del saved you?” Roosevelt repeated in surprise.

Mime Bomb nodded.

“That doesn’t sound very much like our brother,” Theodore commented, “He hates almost everyone.”

“He obviously likes Mime Bomb,” Zack pointed out, “Maybe being together for a while will help him calm down?”

“Maybe,” Roosevelt responded, glancing down at the mime, “You’re not moving from that spot if this is going to help.”

Mime Bomb didn’t seem bothered by this order and simply nodded.

“The blood results are pretty much normal,” the doctor commented.

“Pretty much?” Carmen asked.

“Well, he has a vitamin deficiency but other than that, there’s nothing in his system. He wasn’t drugged.”

“What else could it be?” Carmen demanded.

“I think they used the mind eraser on him,” Crackle said, “The confusion and fear is exactly what I went through. We should get an MRI to confirm.”

“Then he’s going to snap out of it like you do?” Theodore asked hopefully, “He’ll be okay?”

“We have to see if Vess caused him any brain damage, but hopefully he’ll snap out of it once he calms down.”

“We’ll do further tests once we land,” the doctor assured them, “We land in an hour.”

“I’m glad that lab is gone,” Zack said vehemently, “Mime Bomb will never have to worry about any of that ever again.”

Mime Bomb gave a firm nod of agreement.

“I just wish the lab could have been destroyed without anyone dying,” Carmen said regretfully, “Graham, you promised no one would die.”

Crackle was instantly offended. “My team never killed anyone!” he responded, “We didn’t kill those guards! I promised you, and we kept our word.”

The twins both winced and shifted guiltily. Crackle’s attention was on them instantly.

“You didn’t!” he cried out, aghast.

“...sorry, Graham,” Theodore said softly, “We lost our temper.”

“You were the one who tore all those guards apart?!” Carmen asked in shock.

Theodore shook his head. “No, that wasn’t us.”

“What happened?” Carmen asked, “Who did you kill?”

The twins exchanged a look between them and Roosevelt pulled Siren back over into his arms.

“We killed a boy who stabbed Delano. We don’t know who he was, but he was going to kill our brother and so we just...reacted.”

“A boy?” Crackle repeated in confusion, “What did he look like?”

The twins gave a shrug and Crackle let out a sigh.

“He was furious that Delano killed Doctor Vess, and the boy was going to kill him.”

“Vess is dead?!” Sheena yelped out in surprise.

Carmen looked down at Siren and her brow furrowed in worry. “Siren killed Vess?”

“Del stabbed him twice when Vess was trying to kill us,” Theodore explained, “Vess and the boy burned to death in the room.”

Mime Bomb began to sign and Zack quickly translated. “Did the boy have pale skin, dark slicked-back hair, and several facial piercings?”

Theodore scratched at his head as he tried to remember. “Yeah, I think he did. He also talked funny, I think he was British or something.”

Mime Bomb looked around at the others and Zack took a seat beside him.

“Well, it sounds like karma finally caught up to your cousin...” he said hesitantly, “Vess and MJ are gone now, and you’re safe.”

Mime Bomb wasn’t sure how he felt about Michael’s death, but he couldn’t deny it was a relief. The boy had been a complete monster, and he had hurt a lot of people. Despite his hatred for him, Mime Bomb found his thoughts going to the moment Michael had given them DD. There had been pain and regret in Michael’s eyes, and now the boy was dead. Mime Bomb knew that was for the best, but he knew his grandparents were going to take it hard. Mikhael and Annika were incredibly attached to Michael for reasons he couldn’t understand, and it was going to be a hard conversation to have.

“Antonio and I are leaving Team Red.”

Everyone turned to face Le Chèvre in surprise.

“We agreed to stay until the lab was destroyed, but now it’s time for Antonio and I to live our life for ourselves,” Le Chèvre explained, “We’re retiring from this life, and we want a normal life.”

“But Jean Paul!” Sheena protested.

“No, he is right, mi amiga,” El Topo said softly, “We’re going to get married, and we can’t live the rest of our lives always looking over our shoulders.”

“We need you!” Sheena exclaimed, quickly looking distressed, “We’re friends!”

“And we will always remain friends,” El Topo assured her, “But Jean Paul and I want a future where we can just be ourselves. Jean Paul’s breathing is not getting any better, and I’m tired of fighting.”

“But-” Sheena began to protest.

“I understand,” Carmen interrupted, “You told us you would be retiring, and it’s not fair for us to pressure you to stay. We will help you in any way we can.”

El Topo let out a deep breath of relief and offered her a smile.

Sheena hunched her shoulders. She and El Topo were incredibly close, and she honestly felt lost at the thought of him leaving. El Topo reached out and took her by the hand.

“You are my closest friend, mi amiga, and we’ll stay that way, I promise. You can visit us any time you want.”

Sheena averted her gaze but she gave him a nod.

“I will be leaving as well,” Chase suddenly said.

His gaze was entirely on DD as he spoke, and he frowned. “I’m a father and I can’t put the life of my child in danger going on these missions. My duty is to her, and I will protect her no matter what. I am going to make arrangements to move us somewhere safe once she’s stable enough for it.”

Carmen felt like her team was falling apart, but she knew it was for the best. Reaching out, she took Chase by the hand and gave him a smile. 

“We’ll all help you,” she promised, “Your daughter deserves to have her father. Player will create you new identities and you can both disappear into the civilian world in any country you wish.”

Chase had been expecting a fight and he visibly relaxed at her show of support. “Merci,” he said softly, “I will stay in contact with everyone of course.”

“And what about you, Jules?” Carmen asked.

Julia was frowning at Chase and when addressed, she turned the frown to Carmen. “I want to keep fighting,” she replied, “V.I.L.E is a danger to this world, and they need to be taken down. I am staying with Team Red...if you don’t mind.”

Carmen smiled at her. “We’re glad to have you,” she said in relief.

Carmen then glanced to Crackle. “And what are your plans?” she asked him.

“My team is going to lay low until A.C.M.E stops actively looking for us,” he replied, “They know our base is in San Diego and so we’re not going to return there for a while.”

Carmen knew that made sense and nodded. “And our truce?”

“The truce ends once Double Trouble’s brother has been examined by the Volkov doctors,” he stated unapologetically, “We’re leaving Russia as soon as possible.”

Carmen closed her eyes in disappointment, and she gave him a nod.

“I’ll still stay in touch with you,” Otterman promised, “Even if we’re on opposite sides, we’re still family.”

“Thank you, Sven, I would like that very much,” Carmen told him.

They chatted for the rest of the short flight, and once the plane touched down, they saw several black vans waiting for them on the tarmac. Roosevelt narrowed his eyes at the vans, and tightened his hold on Siren.

“Sven, you’re sure the Volkovs can be trusted?”

Otterman nodded. “They won’t hurt us,” he said confidently, “They’ve made it clear they’re willing to do anything to have a relationship with their grandchildren. They won’t hurt us.”

Roosevelt narrowed his eyes at the vans but still gave a nod. Once the plane came to a stop, everyone got up and helped the injured team members to their feet. Carmen and Mime Bomb went first to exit the plane, and several Volkov footsoldiers hurried to help them. Both teams were hurried into the vans and just seconds later they were speeding off the tarmac towards the highway.

The Volkov manor had dozens of armed guards everywhere when they arrived and it was clear no one was taking any chances. Men holding assault rifles peered into each van as they passed, and the gate was closed after them as soon as the last vehicle entered. Mikhael and Annika were waiting at the door for them and the moment Mime Bomb got out of the van, his grandmother ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she could. She began to cry and she spoke fast and low, but he didn’t understand a word she said.

Mime Bomb still didn’t know his grandparents very well, but he returned Annika’s hug and offered her a reassuring smile. Mikhael placed a hand on Mime Bomb’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, looking both stressed and relieved at the same time.

“I’m happy you’re safe, Yuri,” he told him, “I’m so sorry this happened to you. We failed you, and I promise it will never happen again. We have tripled our security and no one will ever be able to touch my grandchildren ever again.”

Mime Bomb knew it would never happen again because the lab was destroyed and Vess and Michael were dead. He no longer had anything to worry about other than V.I.L.E.

Annika released him so she could hug Carmen and Sven next. They were all ushered inside to a large sitting room where stretchers and medical equipment was set up. Chase laid DD on one of the stretchers and one of the doctors immediately stepped forward to examine her. Roosevelt lifted Siren up onto one of the other stretchers who was quickly becoming agitated by the large crowd of people in the room. He began screaming when a doctor tried to touch him and so he was quickly sedated so he could be examined.

Crackle approached to oversee things, and when he explained what had happened, the doctor was incredibly concerned. Pulling a privacy screen around them, he lifted Siren’s shirt to take a look at the feeding tube.

“Please help me strip him,” the doctor said, “I need to know what else this lab has done to him.”

The twins nodded and began carefully stripping their brother as he weakly struggled. Siren was barely awake, and seemed to have no idea what was going on. It quickly became obvious just how thin Siren was and every rib could be seen when they removed his hospital gown. There didn’t seem to be a single ounce of body fat anywhere on him. When they pulled his boxers off, Crackle sucked in a sharp breath of horror.

“Oh...JESUS FUCK,” he commented, staring at the mass of scars covering Siren’s entire lower half.

“Oh my…” the doctor said, looking at the very painful looking scars, “These wounds aren’t new…”

Roosevelt shook his head. “He got into an accident ten years ago and his...parts got burned off,” he explained, “Vess didn’t do this.”

Crackle looked like he was going to pass out. “Oh my fuck…”

The doctor looked at the scarring and could see only the bare minimum had been done for Siren. The scars were likely agonizing and every step he took probably caused him pain. He very gently touched the scars on Siren’s upper legs and was honestly surprised he could walk after an injury like that. Siren whined in pain at the touch and so the doctor withdrew his hand and gave the twins a grave look.

“He needs surgery to help with the scarring. A plastic surgeon should be able to help with this, but it will require multiple skin grafts. Why was he left like this?! Any doctor would see that he needed plastic surgery!”

Crackle averted his gaze away from the scarring and grimaced. “I don’t think Vess really cared,” he stated, “He wasn’t exactly the most...compassionate of people.”

“He’s also extremely underweight! For someone his height, he should be between 110-130 pounds, but he’s nowhere near that. He’s probably a good twenty or thirty pounds underweight and he needs to put on some weight as fast as possible.”

The doctor inspected the feeding tube for a few moments. “I’m assuming there’s a reason for this,” he commented, “Does he have trouble eating on his own? Does he have trouble swallowing?”

The twins exchanged a look.

“I...I don’t know,” Theodore admitted, “We only just got him back. We have no idea what’s been done to him at that lab.”

“If you can’t get him to eat on his own, a feeding tube is extremely easy to use,” the doctor said, “Do you know what to do?”

The twins and Crackle shook their heads.

“First you just screw the cap off the feeding tube,” the doctor instructed, “The tube needs to be flushed with water before and after use. You will need to blend his food into a smoothie-like texture and make sure there are no chunks. Make sure not to accidentally inject air into his stomach or it will be extremely painful. You can buy a feeding syringe at any pharmacy, and you fill the syringe and inject it slowly into the feeding tube. Make sure you’re giving him healthy foods and enough to put some weight on him. If he’s eating properly, he should put on weight very rapidly at 2-4 pounds a week at first and then 1-2 pounds a week after that.”

“We’ll take good care of him!” Theodore vowed, “He’s our little brother, and we’ll do everything we can for him!”

The doctor nodded and then stepped back. “Alright, you can dress him,” he instructed, “I’m going to order an MRI for him to see if we can find the cause of this dissociation.”

Crackle returned the nod. “And how long will this be?” he questioned.

“I’m going to make a few calls but it shouldn’t be more than an hour. The local hospital is just down the road.”

“Good,” Crackle said in relief, “We can’t stay here for too long.”

“I’ll be back shortly,” the doctor assured him, “Expect to leave for the hospital shortly.”

Theodore finished redressing Siren who was now fully asleep, unable to fight the sedatives. Crackle pulled back the privacy screen so he could check on the others and saw several doctors inspecting anyone injured. DD was hooked up to multiple I.Vs and she had three doctors paying close attention to her. 

The enormous sitting room had cots set up for everyone, and it was obvious this was where the Volkovs expected them to stay. Otterman was hugging Findus close, and the other 3 cats were milling about, confused about the excitement in the room. Crackle doubted the cats were supposed to be in here, and he knew it was likely Otterman who had let them in. Dash sat beside Neal arguing with one of the doctors about something, and Paper Star was sitting as far away from everyone as possible quietly reading. He crossed the room and took a seat beside her.

“Are you alright, Shiko?” he whispered.

Paper Star looked up from her book and her gaze went over to the twins but she didn’t say a word. 

“Go sit with them,” Crackle urged, “Roose will want you there.”

Paper Star looked away. “I don’t belong there,” she replied, “He wants to spend his time with his brother.”

Crackle let out a dismissive snort. “Nonsense. Roose cares a lot about you and he could use your support. Go be with him.”

Paper Star gave him a surprised look and then she nodded silently. Setting her book aside, she got up and crossed the room towards the twins. The moment she neared them, Roose reached for her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. Crackle smiled and then picked up her book to see what it was. He was not expecting to see a Nancy Drew novel and shot Paper Star a look of disbelief. She glanced over at him and she smiled.

“I found it on the bookshelf,” she explained.

“Sure ya did, love,” Neal teased from the other side of the room.

“Neal, the doctors said you’re supposed to be resting!” Dash snapped.

“I am!” Neal protested, “I’m laying down aren’t I?”

“You know very well that’s not what they meant!”

As Neal and Dash dissolved into an argument, Crackle glanced around the room.

Mikhael and Annika were no longer in the room, and Crackle found that a bit suspicious. Why weren’t they overseeing the care of their grandchildren? Where did they go?

The doors suddenly opened and to everyone’s surprise, it was Plague Doctor who entered. He headed straight for Mime Bomb and yanked him into a hug. Mime Bomb let out a wheeze of surprise and Plague Doctor let him go.

“I’m glad you’re well, Yuri,” he said softly, his voice lightly accented.

Mime Bomb’s eyes widened in shock and he simply stared at him, this being the first time he heard him speak. Plague Doctor then yanked Otterman into a similar hug who yelped in surprise. When it came to Carmen however, Plague Doctor simply patted her on the head.

“Where’s Aunt Alexandria?” Otterman questioned.

A troubled look entered Plague Doctor’s eyes and he didn’t answer.

“Did she get hurt?!” Otterman demanded in alarm.

Plague Doctor shook his head. “She doesn’t feel comfortable here…”

Otterman knew what had happened in her past and understood. “I’m going to call her to let her know we’re all safe. I’m glad to hear you speaking, Uncle Dmitry.”

Plague Doctor nodded and Otterman stepped to the side of the room as he pulled out his com. To Mime Bomb’s surprise, one of the doctors approached him and pulled him over to be examined. When he saw the questioning look Mime Bomb was given him, the doctor explained.

“Your grandparents asked for your throat to be examined,” he explained, “We want to see if whatever was done to you is reversible.”

Mime Bomb let out a shocked gasp and suddenly felt nervous and uncertain. Was it possible he could someday speak again? His gaze flew to Zack who quickly approached and took a seat next to him.

“I was told you don’t know what was done to you?” the doctor asked.

Mime Bomb nodded.

The doctor pulled several objects out of his medical bag and then tipped up Mime Bomb’s chin. “Open up please, I want to take a look.”

Mime Bomb did as he was told and the doctor shone a light into his mouth to take a look. 

“Hmm, I’ll need to take a closer look. Are you alright if I scope your throat?” he asked, holding out the small scope.

Mime Bomb nodded and opened his mouth again. He nearly gagged as the scope was carefully inserted down his throat and he stayed as still as possible. The doctor hummed and hawed to himself and after a minute or so he withdrew the scope.

“So?” Zack demanded, “Can anything be done?”

The doctor gave them a regretful look. “I’m so sorry, but they completely removed your vocal cords. There’s nothing that we can do… This is not something that can be repaired.”

Mime Bomb had expected this but was still a bit disappointed. Zack patted him on the back and he gave the other boy a smile to ease his worry.

“That’s okay,” Zack told the doctor, “We love him just the way he is.”

“Yeah,” Ivy agreed, appearing out of the crowd, “We’ll all learn sign language! I’ve been practicing!”

Ivy signed something to Mime Bomb who instantly began silently laughing.

Ivy furrowed her brow. “What?”

Mime Bomb laughed even harder.

“I only said ‘I’m your sister’!” 

“Uh, no, you actually said you were his lesbian.” Zack informed her.

Mime Bomb was laughing so hard tears were running down his face and Ivy started laughing too. 

“Well, same thing I guess,” she said, grinning wide, “That’ll teach me to ever ask  **Neal** for help!”

Crackle soon left with the twins to take Siren for an MRI, and everyone else remained behind to wait. Mikhael and Annika still hadn’t returned, and they became aware that the doors were being guarded. When Otterman had approached to go find his grandmother, he was informed that the Volkovs requested everyone stay in this room.

“Are we prisoners?!” Carmen demanded, feeling like something was definitely wrong.

“Of course not, Miss Volkov,” the guard replied, “Your grandparents are dealing with an urgent matter and will be down shortly.”

“What kind of urgent matter?” Carmen pried.

The guard shifted a bit. “Sorry, that matter is confidential.”

Carmen frowned and was instantly suspicious. “What are they hiding that they didn’t want us to see?”

Suddenly there was the sound of screaming from upstairs and everyone froze and they glanced towards the door. The scream was young and completely agonized, and it sent chills through them. A few seconds later, the screams went quiet.

“Who is that?! What’s going on?” Carmen demanded, “Tell us or we’ll go find out for ourselves! Who was that?”

“Sorry, I cannot say,” the guard said.

Carmen tensed and looked ready for a fight, but to her surprise, Plague Doctor gently took her by the elbow and led her over to take a seat away from everyone else. He then motioned for Mime Bomb and Otterman to approach and they hurried over, knowing something was definitely going on.

“Uncle Dmitry, who was that screaming?” Carmen asked.

“...my son,” he quietly replied.

“WHAT?” Otterman exclaimed.

Plague Doctor held a finger to his lips to hush him and shot a look towards Chase. The others followed his gaze and knew that if Chase knew Michael was in the house, it would not end well.

“He’s alive?!” Carmen hissed.

Plague Doctor nodded. “He was gravely injured and he might not make it,” he whispered, “Even if he  **does** survive, he’s going to be disabled for the rest of his life.”

Mime Bomb was both horrified and furious that Michael had survived. The betrayal was written all over his face and Plague Doctor placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“He will never be able to hurt anyone ever again,” he promised him, “He was torn into pieces.”

Carmen winced, and turned her gaze to Mime Bomb who honestly had no idea how to feel about this. The man he hated more than anyone else was still alive and was in the same house as him. He stared towards the door, and then back towards Chase. Chase had enough stress right now, and he didn’t need to add any more to it. It would be best to not tell him.

“Michael belongs in jail,” Carmen said firmly, “He needs to be arrested.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Plague Doctor responded, “Volkovs deal with their own issues. Michael will be dealt with within the family, and he will never be a problem again.”

Carmen looked mutinous. “That’s not right! He’s hurt so many people! He killed Chase’s wife!”

“My parents would have done the same for you or Yuri or Sven,” Plague Doctor explained, “Michael will be protected and no one will get near him. He’s no threat to you anymore.”

Carmen exchanged a look with her cousins and then glanced over at Chase. “I don’t agree with this at all, but it’s not the time to discuss it. We need to move Chase further away where he can’t hear him screaming. He’s not stupid and he’s going to figure it out eventually.”

“Once the doctors are finished with his daughter, your teams will be moved to the guesthouse at the end of the property,” Plague Doctor explained.

Carmen gave a nod, her gaze going back to the door. Otterman was watching his uncle closely and could see the troubled look in his eyes. Reaching out, he gently took him by the hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Did you know about Michael?” he asked.

Plague Doctor shook his head. “I didn’t know I had a child.”

“I’m sorry,” Otterman said quietly.

Plague Doctor squeezed his hand back but said nothing. There was nothing that could be said that would make any of this okay. 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Crackle and the twins returned nearly three hours later and it wasn’t with good news. They were able to confirm the brain damage and it was far worse than what Crackle had been expecting. Siren’s mind was a spiderweb of damage and no one knew to what extent he would be affected. It was possible he would be like this for the rest of his life, and the twins were devastated. They had a team meeting about it the moment they got back and they explained everything to the others.

Dash gave Siren a look of pity and then he turned his gaze to Theodore. “What are you going to do if he’s like this permanently?”

“We’ll take care of him,” Theodore vowed, “We’ll never send him away just because he got hurt…”

Crackle knew this would have to be something they’d figure out as a team. “We’ll deal with it,” he promised, “Our life is dangerous, and Delano is pretty helpless like this. We’ll figure something out.”

“Where are we going, wombat?”

“A.C.M.E will be swarming San Diego and so we’ll go on vacation for a couple months,” Crackle explained, “Hopefully by then everything will have calmed down.”

“Ooooo vacation!” Neal exclaimed, “Where we going?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Crackle responded, “I would like to return to North America at least.”

“I’ll call my aunt and we can arrange things through The Void,” Otterman promised, “I’ll call her now and she’ll help set something up.”

Crackle smiled and clapped him on the back. “Thank you, Sven, that would be a big help!”

“I’ll get the cats ready to go,” Dash stated, glancing around for the carriers, “Someone else grab our bags.”

As Tean Crackle gathered their belongings together, Carmen approached them.

“Are you leaving already?” she asked.

Crackle nodded. “We’re going into hiding for a couple months. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same thing.”

Carmen nodded and looked like she was about to hug him but she thought better of it and simply extended her hand towards him. Crackle stared down at her hand and then accepted the shake, offering her a smile.

“Thank you for keeping your word and not tried to force things,” he told her, “We’re still on opposite sides, but you have my word that we will not hurt or kill anyone.”

“That’s good to hear,” Carmen said in relief, “but I’m still going to stop you from stealing.”

Crackle gave her a smirk. “You can try.”

The Volkovs were informed of their departure and came to see them off. Otterman was hugged by both grandparents, and Plague Doctor simply waved, knowing full well he was going to remain in contact with Otterman the whole time he was gone.

“So where are we headed, Svenny?” Neal asked as Dash pushed his wheelchair.

Otterman opened his notebook where he’d made extensive notes and jotted something down. “Quebec.”

“Ugh, Canada,” Dash muttered.

A few minutes later they were all loaded into vans and on their way to the airport.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mime Bomb stared up at the ceiling unable to sleep. They had been moved into the luxurious guesthouse at the far end of the property and the others seemed none the wiser as to the reason. Mime Bomb glanced towards the window, staring at the manor in the distance. Michael was still alive, and it felt like a dark shadow looming over him. 

Rubbing a hand across the scars on his chest, he felt betrayed by the fact his grandparents were helping Michael. He had betrayed the family, and done countless horrible things, but they hadn’t disowned him. 

Mime Bomb clenched the sheets into a tight fist and felt stressed and sick to his stomach. Michael would come after him and he’d never be free of him.

Sitting up, Mime Bomb rubbed at his head and once again glanced towards the window. How could they be so sure Michael would never be a threat to him? How could they be sure he wouldn’t betray the Volkovs a second time?

Tossing his sheets aside, Mime Bomb slipped out of bed and silently approached the window. He glared towards the manor angrily and then he began pacing. He’d longed for his family for twelve years and now Michael was ruining everything! How could he ever return to visit knowing Michael was lurking unseen somewhere in the house? 

Mime Bomb ran a hand through his hair irritably and glared towards the manor. He had to know for sure, he had to see that Michael was no longer a threat. Grabbing his jacket, Mime Bomb slipped his feet inside his shoes and then crept out of his bedroom. Everyone was asleep and he quietly crept through the guesthouse until he reached the door. The guards at the door stopped their conversation as he approached and they shone their flashlights at him.

“Master, Yuri?” one questioned, “Is anything wrong?”

Mime Bomb ignored them and opened the doors to leave.

“Do you need something?” one of the guards asked, “You’re not supposed to be wandering right now.”

Mime Bomb didn’t even spare him a glance and shivered as he stepped outside. The guards didn’t try to stop him, and Mime Bomb slowly made his way across the snowy grounds in the direction of the manor.

The guards at the door questioned him and then told him he couldn’t enter, but they made no move to stop him. Mime Bomb suspected they weren’t allowed to touch him and he was going to take full advantage of that fact. He shoved his way past any guard who got in his way and he entered the manor, feeling determined.

The manor was dark and Mime Bomb didn’t really know where he was heading. Knowing Michael’s room was somewhere on the second floor he started up the stairs, feeling a cold anger starting to build. 

“Master Yuri, what do you think you’re doing?”

Mime Bomb saw Sebastian was standing at the top of the stairs, hands on hips as he glared down at him. Mime Bomb ignored him and went to step around him.

Sebastian caught him by the arm and Mime Bomb stared at him in surprise. Alright, Sebastian apparently had special privileges…

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sebastian repeated.

Mime Bomb’s angry eyes met his directly and then he shook Sebastian’s hold off his arm. When Sebastian reached for him again, a stony glare made Sebastian retract his hand. Sebastian stared after him for a few moments and then he hurried off, likely to tattle. 

Mime Bomb kept walking and he had no idea what he was going to do. What would he do once he found him? Would he fight him? Hurt him? Kill him?

Mime Bomb walked down the long hallway, looking from one door to the next, looking for some sign of where the other boy was. Finally he came to a room that had Michael’s name written on it in colourful paint like a child’s bedroom.

Steeling himself, Mime Bomb took a deep breath and then opened the door. The lights were off in the room but he could see well enough not to need them. Mime Bomb’s gaze settled on the bed at the far end of the room, and he could see someone was in it. Taking another deep breath, Mime Bomb slowly made his way across the room.

The figure in the bed was breathing deeply and it sounded strained and somewhat raspy. Mime Bomb now stood directly over the bed and he looked down at the person asleep. Michael’s face was bandaged and there were several I.Vs and sensors hooked up to him. An oxygen mask was over Michael’s face and he seemed unaware of Mime Bomb’s presence. 

Mime Bomb stared for a moment and then he reached down and ripped the blankets off so he could see Michael fully. His eyes carefully scanned him and his gaze settled on the missing limbs. The bandages were soaked in blood and Mime Bomb wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Plague Doctor was right and it was very unlikely that Michael would ever be a threat to anyone.

Someone suddenly placed an arm around him from behind and Mime Bomb nearly jumped a mile. Looking beside him, his grandmother offered him a sad smile and then looked down at Michael.

“You have a right to hate him and to be furious with him, but please show him a little mercy,” Mikhael said from his other side, “His life has been forever changed and he’s not able to hurt you any more. If he survives, he will be kept here at the manor for the rest of his life. I will never allow him to hurt our family ever again.”

Mime Bomb hunched his shoulders and stared at Michael’s face which seemed deceptively innocent looking. He was safe and he had nothing to worry about.

“Come,” Mikhael said, placing a hand on top of his head, “Let’s go have some hot cocoa, alright?”

Mime Bomb glanced back at Michael and felt like justice had been served. Michael was nothing, and Mime Bomb didn’t care if he lived or died. Allowing himself to be led away, Mime Bomb followed his grandfather out of the room as Annika covered Michael with the blankets.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

There was a blur of colours and a murmur of unintelligible voices all around him. Michael couldn’t seem to move, his limbs feeling heavy and numb. His eyelids felt like they were coated in lead and he couldn’t seem to keep them open. He felt like he was floating on a cloud of nothingness, and he neither dreamt nor felt a thing.

It felt like a heavy fog was in his mind, keeping him asleep, and Michael had a hard time trying to resist it. At one point he felt something cool placed on his forehead, but he was much too tired to open his eyes. The pull into sleep came in waves, and it was always voices that woke him up. During one bout of semi-consciousness, he felt his entire body jostled as he was moved, heard a lot of aggravated arguing, and then he fell back asleep, too tired to make sense of it.

The next time he woke, it was to a voice close beside him.

“I’ve begun reducing his sedatives,” the unknown voice said, “He’s now stable and I’m confident he will make a full recovery.” 

“When will he wake?” came Mikhael’s worried voice.

“He’s already starting to come out of it,” the man replied, “He’ll be very drowsy for a few hours and he’ll likely be in a lot of pain. When he needs it, I’ll give him a bit of morphine.”

Michael fell back asleep, but it didn’t take long before the pain found him. He let out a groan of complaint, but was still too drowsy to open his eyes. He felt a gentle hand running their fingers through his hair, and he fell back asleep.

Michael awoke only an hour later. He was now in constant pain, and he drifted in and out of consciousness, not really comprehending much of what was happening around him. He saw his grandmother’s face several times when he woke, and he remembered hearing her soft words, but the heaviness of sleep kept pulling at him and he could never stay awake for long. 

He saw Annika’s face when he opened his eyes, and she smiled at him warmly. She seemed so happy to see him awake, and he was aware of being wrapped in blankets and held in her arms, but there was still too much pain. 

Michael let out a groan, just wanting the pain to stop. He couldn’t remember anything, and was feeling confused and tired.

“N-Numa?” Michael weakly called out.

He felt someone take his hand.

“H-hurts,” Michael complained, “Numa, it hurts...make it stop.”

He heard more voices and a few minutes later there was a pinch on his arm and the pain melted away. Michael let out a breath of relief and drifted back into sleep.

Everything changed the next time he awoke. Michael slowly opened his eyes, and he saw the room was dark. His mind still felt fuzzy but he was a little more alert than before. Lifting his arms to rub at his eyes, he froze. Slowly looking down at his right arm, he saw it was gone at the elbow. Confused, he turned his arm, staring at the bandaged stub without comprehension. His arm was gone.

Remembering being ripped into pieces by Double Trouble, he yanked the blankets away and stared in horror at his missing left leg. Both limbs were covered in bandages and they ached at being moved.

Michael sat in stunned silence for a moment as his mind caught up with what had happened. The lab was attacked and Siren had betrayed them. The whole lab was burning...

Memories of Vess’ screams as he burned alive filled his mind, and Michael himself let out an agonized screech. It couldn’t be real, it was all just a terrible nightmare. Vess wasn’t dead...he  **couldn’t** be dead! He needed to wake up. He was trapped in some horrible nightmare, and he knew everything would be fine when he woke.

Michael’s limbs were in agony, and he knew deep down that this was no dream.

Michael thought of Vess and screamed and screamed, and couldn’t seem to stop. He was aware his bedroom door suddenly opened and the lights were turned on, and then he felt hands on him. Michael kept his eyes squeezed closed and he kept screaming, even after he felt the pinch of a needle.

This time when he drifted back to sleep, his dreams were full of horrendous nightmares. His mind kept replaying his last few minutes with Vess, and then the terrible screams that had echoed through the halls. Michael woke up screaming, and then he retched and vomited over the side of the bed. He was immediately pulled into his grandmother’s arms as he choked and gasped for breath, and as she held him close, he began to sob.

Annika spoke to him softly, and Michael sagged into her hold, desperately wanting any sort of comfort he could find. Michael sat like that for a long time, and when finally his tears had abated, Annika turned to look towards the doorway where her husband and Sebastian waited. Mikhael approached the bed and slowly took a seat beside them, his expression looking strained. Without a word, he reached over and pulled Michael into a tight hug.

“You will get through this, Michael,” he assured him softly, “You are strong and you will be fine.”

“...Numa.”

Mikhael slowly shook his head. “Numa Quederi did not make it out of the lab.”

Michael pulled away from his grandfather and shook his head, refusing to believe it.

“I’m sorry, Michael, but he’s gone. The entire lab is gone and he never made it out of the building.”

“No,” Michael said, once again shaking his head, “You’re lying to me!”

Mikhael gave him a pained look.

“You’ve always hated Numa and you’re trying to keep him away from me!” Michael yelled angrily, “Where is he? Where is Numa?!”

Mikhael simply gave a slow shake of the head. “I’m sorry.”

Michael felt tears come back to his eyes and he let out a yell of fury and lashed out. He kicked his grandfather solidly in the side, but he was too weak to do any real damage. He let out a stream of furious curses, and then began kicking and swinging wildly and Mikhael easily pinned him down to the mattress so he wouldn’t hurt himself.

Michael struggled uselessly, but he was too tired and weak to break free. He simply laid there and sobbed.

“It’s going to be alright,” Mikhael told him softly, “We’re here for you, Michael, and we’re going to help you.”

“Go find Numa!” Michael pleaded, “Save him!”

Mikhael averted his gaze.

“Please!” Michael begged, “Please look for him! He’s probably just trapped inside!”

Mikhael gently ran his hands through Michael’s hair. “I have men at the lab now,” he informed him, “They will search every inch of the lab, you have my word.”

Michael nodded. Vess was fine, he was just trapped in the lab. Vess was too smart to be killed like this, and soon they’d be reunited. Michael took a deep breath and knew he just had to be patient and soon Vess would come for him.

Michael had no idea when he fell asleep but the next time he woke, his grandfather was speaking with a doctor and it was light out.

“Where’s Numa?” Michael demanded tiredly, “Did you find Numa?”

Mikhael turned a grave look towards him. “I’m sorry, but they haven’t found him yet…”

Michael sagged back down in disappointment. He knew Vess was probably worried about him, and he knew he was probably doing his best to get back to him. Vess was perfectly fine and he would walk through those doors at any time.

A few moments later, the doctor approached to change his bandages and it was so painful that Michael screamed and lashed out in agony. He continued kicking at the doctor and refused to let him touch him. The doctor and Sebastian pinned him down and he was sedated again and Michael sank into the darkness, still holding onto his one spark of hope.

When Michael next woke, he was incredibly groggy but he was aware of someone shaking his shoulder. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked up and saw his grandfather standing over him.

“Michael, we found something in the lab's wreckage.”

Michael sat up fast in excitement, but then his gaze fell on the painting in Mikhael’s hands. It was the painting he’d given Vess for Christmas. He stared at the singed frame and how one corner was burned black. He flopped back down in disappointment.

“This painting has your signature on it, and so it was brought back for you,” Mikhael informed him, “Everything in the lab burnt and so it surprised them to find this!”

If the painting was burned then it stood to reason the rest of the lab had burned as well. Vess was injured and unable to walk… How did he get out of the burning lab? A small voice in the back of Michael’s mind informed him he didn’t and Michael closed his eyes as reality began setting in. Vess was dead.

“Where do you want me to put your painting?” Mikhael asked.

“Burn it.”

“Pardon?” Mikhael asked in confusion.

“I don’t want it,” Michael stated, “Get rid of it.”

Mikhael hesitated and looked down at the painting. “Are you sure? This painting is incredibly well done! I think it’s the best one I’ve seen you do.”

“GET RID OF IT!” Michael screeched at him.

Mikhael gave him a sad look and simply nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

Michael didn’t want to look at the painting ever again, and just wanted Vess back. Michael thought of Christmas morning when he’d proudly presented Vess with that painting and the smile Vess had given him. He’d never seen Vess so pleased before and Vess had given it a place of honor in their bedroom. It had made him happy and Michael felt a desperate longing.

Opening his eyes, he saw Mikhael was leaving the room.

“Wait!” Michael called after him.

Mikhael paused and glanced back at him.

“Leave the painting.”

Mikhael stared at him for a moment and then simply nodded, setting it down on a nearby chair.

“...Michael?”

Michael didn’t answer, but he looked over at him.

“What you did...the betrayal, I just want you to know that we forgive you and we will work to get past this.”

Michael closed his eyes guiltily. “Leave me alone.”

“As you wish, but we’ll be having a long talk about this later.”

He didn’t sound angry with him, and this just made it all the worse for Michael. He had betrayed the entire family, and no one had even yelled at him yet. 

Once Mikhael was gone, Michael opened his eyes and stared at the painting. He stared at the scene of he and Vess at the cafe and his gaze lingered on Vess’ face. He felt tears begin running down his face, and he knew at that moment he would never see Vess again. Vess had died to save his life, and he knew there would be no wedding. 

Michael began screaming out curses as loudly as he could, and the reality began slowly sinking in. Vess was truly gone, and Michael was left behind broken and alone. Michael’s life had been completely destroyed, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Vess was dead. 

Michael began to hyperventilate. He heard his door open, but he was in shock and could do nothing besides scream and cry. He heard grandmother speaking to him, but his mind couldn’t focus enough to understand her words. Vess was dead. The only man he had ever loved was dead. Vess was gone forever. 

Vess had died an agonizing death in order to save his life, and Michael’s stomach twisted in guilt. Vess had made the creepy bird-man take Michael instead of himself and he had died alone. Michael would never be able to hug him or be held by him ever again. Michael was alone. 

Vess was dead.

Vess was dead.

Vess was dead.

Michael began to sob hard and his grandmother ran her fingers through his hair, doing her best to calm him down. Michael sobbed hysterically for what felt like hours and then he simply went quiet. Michael felt a numbness come over him and he rolled away from his grandparents and faced the wall. He refused to move, and couldn’t bear to look at anyone.

Numbness filled his mind, and no longer cared about anything. Vess was dead. 

He didn’t react to anything said or done to him, and he simply went catatonic, staring at the wall silently.

Michael drifted in and out of sleep, and his grandparents came back to check on him frequently. He didn’t respond to anything they said to him, and he refused all food offered to him. Minutes and hours blended together and he had no concept of time. Even when shaken, he didn’t react, and he felt himself sinking into a hellish darkness. Vess was dead.

Hours began stretching to days, and Michael still felt absolutely nothing. Every time he closed his eyes he heard Vess screaming, and every time he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of his own mutilated body. His life was now a walking hell, and Michael just wanted to escape. He tried to sleep as much as possible despite the nightmares, and the darkness of sleep kept the pain at bay. He wished he never had to wake up.

His grandparents were almost always by his side but he didn’t react to them and he barely heard any of their words. Michael slept and stared at the wall, and that’s all he could seem to do. He didn’t even react when the servants stripped him to wash him, or when they moved him so they could change the sheets. He had lost the will to live. 

The doctor came several times a day over the next few days to change his bandages which was agonizing, and Michael screamed the whole time his arm and leg were cleaned and bandaged. The doctor gave him shots of morphine at first, but he slowly gave him less and less as time went on. Michael didn’t react to much of anything and endured the now constant ache of his missing limbs.

His grandmother was sitting by his side when the doctor finally announced there would be no more morphine. He was worried with Michael’s history with substance abuse that he’d become addicted to it and didn’t want to take any chances.

“Give him one of these three times a day, and one of these twice a day,” the doctor said, and Michael heard the rattle of pills, “I’ll be back in a week to check on him. I’ve disconnected the I.V lines and so make sure he’s eating and drinking from now on.”

Mikhael thanked the doctor and then a moment later Michael was alone with Annika. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” she whispered to him, “You will get up today, yes?”

Valentine’s Day… It was Valentine’s Day. This was his wedding day and Michael felt like he was going to throw up. His gaze went down to his engagement ring and he squeezed his hand into a fist. The tattoo on his knuckles seemed to mock him and the word ‘DEAD’ stared back at him. Today should have been the happiest day of his life. Michael closed his eyes and felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest.

Annika asked him if he was hungry and he didn’t open his eyes. She told him she was going to get him something to eat and a few moments later, he heard her leave. Michael slowly opened his eyes and then turned to glance over his shoulder. He stared at the painting for a few moments and then looked away.

His eyes scanned his bedroom, and his gaze fell on two bottles of pills sitting on top of his dresser. He stared at them long and hard and he very slowly sat up. One of those bottles was likely painkillers. His gaze fell on the wheelchair sitting beside his bed and he felt his stomach turn. He could no longer walk...

Michael pulled aside the blankets and stared down at his missing limbs in disgust. He was hideous and he felt sick just looking at himself. His gaze went back to the pills and he slowly edged over and placed his foot on the floor. He refused to so much as look at the wheelchair and he used his arm to push himself up until he was standing. Gripping the bedpost tightly, he looked at the short distance he had to go and then hopped forward, barely catching himself against the night table as he lost his balance. Steadying himself, he kept his hand against the wood and hopped again. The motion pulled at his healing skin and was agonizing, but he ignored it, now almost halfway there.

Two more hops had Michael leaning against the dresser, and he reached for the two bottles of pills. He squinted at the labels and saw they were in Russian and he had no idea what they were. Popping them open, he peered inside and saw one bottle looked like oxy and the other looked like some sort of antibiotic. Pouring the oxy into his hand, he saw there were enough pills to kill an elephant.

Michael didn’t even hesitate as he swallowed pill after pill. He knew exactly what he was doing and what would happen. He’d soon fall asleep and then asphyxiate in his sleep. He would die and leave this hellish existence behind. Soon he’d be with Vess and he’d finally be whole and happy again. He’d be able to hug his fiance, and they’d be able to spend eternity together. 

Michael swallowed all sixty pills and then he dropped the empty bottle to the floor. His stomach was churning and aching, and as he hopped his way back to the bed, he was already getting drowsy.

Michael fell onto his bed and barely had time to roll over as he began vomiting uncontrollably. It was at this time that Annika entered the room. When she saw he was being sick, she rushed over to check on him, and when she saw the pills he was throwing up, she let out a gasp, her eyes immediately spotting the empty bottle on the floor. She dropped the plate she was holding and then began yelling for help. 

Michael was barely conscious at this point, and he felt himself being hefted up into strong arms and a moment later everything went black.

When Michael woke, his stomach was in absolute agony and his grandmother was asleep on the bed beside him. She had her head resting on his shoulder and it took Michael a few seconds to remember what had happened. He remembered swallowing the pills and then he remembered vomiting.

He tried to kill himself but had obviously failed. Like everything else in his life, he even managed to fuck up his suicide. Michael didn’t even have the energy to cry anymore and he once again rolled away to face the wall. This woke Annika, who immediately hugged him tightly as she began crying in relief. Michael simply closed his eyes, feeling awful that he made her cry, but refusing to apologize for it. They had taken away his escape and were forcing him to stay in this hell. Perhaps this was their way of punishing him?

There were several IVs in his arm which pulled uncomfortably but he ignored the pain and simply stared silently at the wall. Michael once again ignored everyone around him, and he soon came to realize that he was never alone for even a moment. Sebastian had been assigned to him, and as much as Michael disliked the other man, he couldn’t will himself to protest.

Sebastian disliked Michael equally as much, but he was a professional and did as he was ordered by the Volkovs. Seeing Michael so beaten down should have made him feel smug, but instead Sebastian found himself pitying the boy. As arrogant and as dumb as Michael could be, he’d always had an enthusiastic energy about him. The broken boy that lay on the bed was just a shell of his former self and Sebastian knew Michael needed serious help.

He spent three days trying to get Michael to eat, to drink or to do anything at all, but he was completely unresponsive. He had given up.

When Sebastian’s shift ended and he switched out with the next caretaker, he approached Annika and Mikhael.

[[Michael has given up on life,]] Sebastian stated with a frown.

[[He still won’t eat?]] Annika asked worriedly.

Sebastian shook his head. [[He won’t do anything at all. We need to find some way to snap him out of this. He needs something else to focus on other than the death of Doctor Vesalius.]]

[[We’ve tried everything,]] Mikhael said in distress, [[I don’t think he hears a word we say. Nothing reaches him!]]

Sebastian hesitated a long moment and adjusted his glasses before he responded. [[It may be time to consider a treatment facility for Michael,]] he suggested, [[He’s a danger to himself and I’m worried his next attempt might be successful.]]

[[His next attempt?!]] Annika cried out in distress, [[No! I won’t allow it!]]

[[He’s not getting better,]] Sebastian pointed out, [[The doctor prescribed him antidepressants, but they don’t seem to be helping.]]

[[I’ll find a way to snap him out of it!]] Annika vowed, [[My grandbaby is going to make it through this!]]

[[Annika, perhaps he’s right,]] Mikhael said, resting a hand on her arm gently, [[Perhaps a few days in a hospital will help him?]]

Annika stood abruptly to her feet. Without a word, she hurried for the door, a determined look on her face.

[[Annika?]] Mikhael called after her in confusion.

She didn’t answer and so he quickly hobbled after her as she headed for her study. Annika walked straight for her desk and opened her laptop, her expression still just as determined.

[[Annika?]] Mikhael questioned, staring into the room at her.

She still didn’t answer as she began to type.

[[What are you doing?]] Mikhael asked, approaching the desk.

[[I’m going to give Michael exactly what he wants,]] she responded, [[That will snap him out of it!]]

Mikhael furrowed his brow in confusion and hobbled around the desk so he could see what she was doing. He stared at her screen for a few moments and then he immediately began to sputter.

[[You are  **not** buying him a tiger!]]

Annika glared up at him defiantly. 

[[No, Annika, absolutely not!]] Mikhael said firmly, [[That’s completely ridiculous! Michael would get himself eaten immediately!]]

Annika’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Michael probably  **would** get himself mauled if she bought him a tiger. Mikhael rested his hands on her shoulders as he peered at her screen.

[[I know Michael really wants one, but a tiger is out of the question. How about if we compromise instead?]] Mikhael suggested.

Annika cocked her head. [[A compromise?]]

[[Here, let me show you what I mean,]] Mikahel said, reaching over to type at her computer.

When he brought up the site he wanted, Annika’s eyes widened in surprise.

[[Oh, that’s perfect!]] she exclaimed, [[I never would have thought of that!]]

Mikhael smiled proudly. [[I’ll make the arrangements.]]

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**TBC**

**I will aim to have the next chapter out within 2 weeks. :)**

**Credit for the names of Otterman and Moose Boy go to Animedemon01**

**Comments make the author happy! ^_^**

**Please don't forget to let me know what you think!**


	3. Damaged Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> art 3 of Team Red Family series
> 
> Healing is a long and difficult process. V.I.L.E caused so much pain and damage that everyone is struggling to recover from it. Everything feels like it's broken beyond repair, and now there's a new threat looming over them.
> 
> The Spider controls everything from the shadows and now she has her sights set on taking down Team Red and Team Crackle. Team Shadow is coming for them, whether they're ready or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This chapter is about the length that I'm going to aim for all future chapters. It's 8k words long and my goal is to keep chapters between 5k-10k to make life for myself a little easier. No more 25k chapters unless it's for a special chapter.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be 100% Team Crackle.
> 
> An enormous thank you to the very awesome Violetfic and Coulrosaurus for being my betas! You guys really helped improve this story a lot and you're awesome!
> 
> Please note that several characters use the F-word extremely frequently in their everyday speech. You have been warned.
> 
> Dr. Vess and Karam were created by Violetfic, and I am using them with her permission.
> 
> If there are any artists who would like to draw for this story, please let me know and I'll add your artwork to the chapter so everyone can see it!
> 
> If you're enjoying the story so far, please let me know your thoughts. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms as it helps me improve the story.
> 
> Happy Reading!

**XXXXXXXXXX** **XXXXXXX**

**The Light**

**Chapter 3**

**Damaged Children**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael Finnegan Senior had tried everything to get in touch with his wife, but it was like she had simply dropped off the face of the Earth. He had called in a few favours and had several people look for her, but the house was empty and there was no sign of what was left of his family. Mr. Finnegan looked down at the photograph in his hands and stared at the faces of his now-dead children. He should have felt sad, but instead he was filled with a white hot rage. How  **dare** Spider do this? How  **dare** she touch what belonged to him?!

His gaze went to Michael in the photograph and he scowled at the boy. He’d cared for that bastard for twelve years and did Michael show any appreciation? Of course not. He had run away from home when he was twelve, and hid from him like a coward. The boy had run away after getting a beating, and Mr. Finnegan hadn’t been able to find him. He’d blamed Katherine for spoiling him and he had vowed to give him a second beating the second he found him. Mr. Finnegan searched for months, but Michael had simply disappeared. 

For years they heard nothing, and they’d assumed him dead. Now Mr. Finnegan knew where Michael had been that whole time. He was a Volkov and he had gone crawling to his grandparents for protection. He’d been shocked when Michael showed up a decade later asking to work for him. Mr. Finnegan had beat him within an inch of his life but Michael said all the right things and seemed remorseful, and so he’d reluctantly forgiven him. He then took him back as his son. He knew very well Michael wasn’t his, but he needed more men within his organization he could trust.

Mr. Finnegan glared at the picture of Michael and narrowed his eyes. Clearly he was mistaken and the boy was a snake from the very beginning. He turned his eyes on his beautiful blonde haired wife, and ran a finger over her smiling face.

Mr. Finnegan remembered when he first met Katherine and how beautiful and carefree she’d been. He was on a business trip to Russia at the time and they met at the Volkov estate for their meetings. During the long and boring meetings, Mr. Finnegan found his attention wandering and he looked out of the windows in the garden. 

Katherine was seventeen and the daughter of one of his business partners. He’d seen her dancing in the gardens with some dark-haired boy and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine and she twirled and swayed to the music, her face like an angel. 

After the meeting was over, he’d approached the gardens to watch in secret. The boy she was with was the fourteen year old Volkov son, but he hadn’t paid much attention to him at the time. The only thing he cared about was the beautiful Katherine. He watched her kiss the boy as they walked hand in hand and he felt jealousy consume him.

Mr. Finnegan immediately desired to own her and despite being thirty-five, he asked her father for her hand in marriage. He was immediately refused, but after a lot of threats and pressure, his business partner finally agreed to the marriage. Katherine had cried the day he took her away, and he’d quickly gotten impatient with her. Where were the beautiful smiles and gentle touches for  **him** ? Why did she treat him like a monster?

Wanting to separate her away from everyone she knew, he returned back to Ireland with her and refused to allow her to leave the house. They married immediately and she was bitter and angry all the time. She refused to kiss him unless he forced it, and Mr. Finnegan became resentful. She hated him, but after several harsh beatings she finally began to do as she was told. She quickly learned not to displease him, and after that life got better for Mr. Finnegan. 

Nine months after their marriage, Michael Jr was born and it finally felt like his life was perfect. For a time he was happy and satisfied with his life, but like all things, it didn’t last. Michael was not the type of child he was expecting, and he was upset and disappointed. 

As Michael grew older, Mr Finnegan saw the boy was too gentle and soft for his liking. The boy should have been interested in fighting and sports, but instead he liked to draw and play quietly by himself. Mr. Finnegan thought he acted more like a girl than a boy, and he was disgusted by it. Mr. Finnegan refused to raise a son like that and so he was hard on him on purpose, and began beating him any time he acted too effeminate. His wife argued and fought with him over this, but he knew it made the boy stronger. It wasn’t long before Michael stopped being sweet and gentle and instead became angry and a bully to the other children at school.

The older Michael got, the more disappointed Mr. Finnegan became. It soon became clear that Michael wasn’t suited to play sports, and also struggled academically. Michael was incredibly dumb in his opinion, and he messed up everything he touched. Mr. Finnegan began beating him harder and harder, determined to make his son right, but nothing helped.

When Michael failed the 8th grade, Mr. Finnegan had given him the worst beating of his life and made sure Michael knew how much of a pathetic disappointment he was. Michael ran away in the middle of the night, and that was the last time Mr. Finnegan saw him for nearly a decade.

Mr. Finnegan scoffed and tore Michael out of the family photo. He’d wasted his time with the boy, and Michael was nothing but a mistake. Mr. Finnegan ground his foot on top of Michael’s picture. A mistake that would soon be erased. Spider would come for him soon and once he helped her with her plans, he was going to track Michael down and strangle him with his bare hands.

No one betrayed him and got away with it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

“Ugh,” Spinkick whined, “Why is it so cold here?”

“Because you’re in the Northern U.S.A during Wintertime?” came Troll’s mocking voice over the coms, “What’d you think it was going to be like? A tropical rainforest?”

Spinkick pulled a knitted hat down over his ears and scowled out the window of their rental van. “There’s no snow so why is it so cold?”

“I repeat my previous statement,” Troll replied.

“I don’t find it that cold,” Lady Dokuso commented, “Hokkaido in Japan where I grew up can get very cold in the wintertime. This is pretty mild in comparison.”

“I’m filipino, and I hate all cold weather,” Spinkick muttered, “I can’t wait to get out of here!”

Flytrap smiled at him and removed her scarf. Leaning over, she gently wrapped it around his neck until all that could be seen were his eyes.

“There, Kit, you can use my scarf,” she told him, “I was too hot anyway.”

“Fank oo, Pet,” came his muffled response.

“You’re three minutes from destination,” Troll informed them, “Operative Earwig is supposed to keeping an eye out for you.”

“Who is this Earwig person?” Rhino demanded, “How come I’ve never heard of her before?”

Troll pulled up Earwig’s profile and saw her picture was from her academy days. Nothing seemed overly remarkable about her and so he wasn’t certain.

“Dunno,” he replied, “She looks pretty basic to me. Her boobs are pretty much non-existent and her ass looks flat.”

“Ugh, you creep,” Driver snapped, “That doesn’t matter!”

“Says the woman who looks like pure perfection,” Troll replied, “Perfect breasts, an ass you could stand on, and a face like a Playboy girl. You, my dear, are beautiful!”

“You’re a disgusting pervert!” Driver said angrily, “Stop looking at me!”

“Take a compliment,” Troll snapped, “You’re the best looking person on the team. Petra has a big ass but her chest is flat, and Dokuso is like 108.”

Flytrap’s face reddened in fury, but it was Spinkick who jumped to her defense. 

“Don’ oo ‘alk ‘bout ‘er ‘ike that!” he yelled through the thick scarf.

Troll let out a snort and changed the subject. “You’re now at your destination. Pull over and Earwig should be waiting nearby.”

Driver pulled the van to the side of the street into an empty parking spot and then turned off the ignition. 

“How will we know her?” Rhino demanded.

“I’m watching through various street-cams right now and so I’ll let you know if I see her approaching,” Troll stated, “I just texted everyone her picture.”

Everyone pulled out their coms and glanced down at the photo he sent. There was a young girl with short dark hair that was wearing the academy uniform and it was obviously a very old photo because the uniform was slightly different from the current one.

“How old is this?” Lady Dokuso demanded, “I haven’t seen this uniform in quite a while.”

“She graduated ten years ago but there are no current pictures of her,” Troll replied, “In fact there is barely any info about her at all. There are no mission reports, no evaluations, and not even any disciplinary reports. It’s like she simply disappeared directly after graduating.”

“That is very...unusual…” Lady Dokuso commented, “I have never heard of this operative either.”

Everyone got out of the van and they glanced up and down the street but no one seemed to be paying them any attention. The streets were crowded and they waited for a few minutes in silence, but there was no sign of Earwig.

“Troll, do you see her?” Lady Dokuso demanded.

“I’m looking,” Troll replied, his tone a bit distracted, “I’m watching all surrounding streets but I don’t see her yet.”

“Are we early?” Driver asked.

Flytrap glanced down at her watch. “We’re right on time.”

Spinkick pulled the scarf down a bit. “Then where is she?! It’s freezing and the people here are really creepy.”

“Creepy?” Flytrap questioned.

“Yeah,” Spinkick replied, “Look at that group of homeless people staring at us.”

Everyone glanced over and saw five homeless people watching them from the nearby alley. They were wearing rags and all were absolutely filthy. One of the men was incredibly massive and had a scraggly beard and hands that were black with dirt. Another man was thin, greasy and kept twitching as he watched them. Lurking in the back of the group was a person wearing a disgustingly dirty rat costume. He was crouched down like an animal and they could see his nails were long and filthy.

“Why are they staring at us like that?” Flytrap demanded.

“Ugh,” Driver commented, “Let’s move further away.”

“No, this is our meeting spot and so this is where we’ll stay,” Lady Dokuso said firmly.

“They look like they’re planning on mugging us,” Flytrap pointed out.

Spinkick puffed up his chest heroically. “I could take them all in a fight!”

“Ugh,” Driver repeated, “And then we’d have to touch them.”

“Go on!” Lady Dokusu called over to the people, “Get away from us! Leave us alone.”

The homeless group exchanged looks with one another and then began whispering. One of the group slowly began approaching them, and Spinkick instantly readied himself for a fight.

“Back off!” he warned her.

“What do you want?” Driver demanded, “Go away!”

The woman stopped just in front of them and simply stared at them silently. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, and then glanced over her shoulder at her friends. The four men were watching her intently and so she turned her attention back to Team Shadow.

“She’s looking for a handout,” Lady Dokuso said in disgust, “Go away, you’re not getting anything from us!”

“Why is Earwig so late?” Driver demanded, “This is ridiculous! We’re going to catch a plague from these disgusting people!”

“Just give her some change so she goes away!” Flytrap begged, “Who has change?”

Rhino reached into his pocket, dug around for a moment, and then pulled out a handful of quarters.

“Here,” he stated, tossing the change at the woman’s feet, “Now piss off.”

The woman stared down at the change and then knelt down to pick it up. Once she had collected every coin, she walked away to head back to her dirty group of friends. She placed the change into the bearded man’s hands who patted her on the head affectionately.

Driver curled her nose at the sight. “Ugh, so nasty.”

“Any sign of her yet, Troll?” Lady Dokuso demanded.

“Still looking,” Troll replied, “I’m going to scan the crowds with my facial recognition software. She probably hasn’t noticed you since you’re all dressed as civilians.”

“Well, hurry up!” Spinkick ordered.

“Oh god, she’s coming back,” Flytrap stated.

Everyone glanced over and sure enough the homeless woman was coming back. She stood in front of them and simply stared at them, not saying a word. She scratched her head for a moment and her fingers became tangled in her long dark hair, dislodging several pieces of black debris. Everyone recoiled away from her.

“Leave us alone!” Spinkick snarled, “We don’t have any more change!”

The woman blinked at him and said nothing.

“Just ignore her and she’ll eventually go away,” Lady Dokuso stated.

“She smells,” Driver complained, “Disgusting thing.”

“Huh,” Troll stated, “You’re never going to believe this but-”

“HEY!” Spinkick interrupted, “Don’t touch me!”

They glanced over and saw the woman had reached out and grabbed hold of Spinkick’s sleeve to give it a tug. Spinkick shoved her away hard and she stumbled back and fell onto the pavement. The bearded man watching let out a roar of rage and began to charge directly for them, but the woman raised a hand and he stopped short. Getting back to her feet, she didn’t seem bothered and Spinkick bristled.

A greasy handprint was left on Spinkick’s sleeve and he shuddered. “Leave us alone!” he ordered.

“Um, guys?” Troll cut in.

“What is it?” Lady Dokuso demanded.

“I’ve scanned everyone on the surrounding streets and I got a match…”

“Great!” Flytrap said, “Where is she?”

“Right in front of you.”

“Where?” Spinkick demanded, “I don’t see anyone!”

“...she’s the homeless woman,” Troll replied, sounding a bit too amused about the situation.

Everyone turned to stare at the homeless woman in horror and disgust. They all pulled up Earwig’s picture on their coms and then compared the two.

There was so much dirt and grime on the woman that it was hard to compare, but there were definitely similarities. Earwig was older now, her hair was extremely dirty and matted, and her face was covered in scars, but there was no doubt she was the same person in the photo. Her clothes were in absolute tatters, and they were stained brown from grease and dirt.

“Oh my god…” Driver commented, raising a hand to her mouth.

“You’re Earwig?!” Spinkick cried out.

Earwig nodded.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lady Dokusi demanded, “Why are you like this?”

Earwig blinked and said nothing.

“Are you certain this is operative Earwig, Troll?” Lady Dokuso asked.

“Absolutely,” Troll responded with a snicker, “This is going to be so much fun to watch.”

“No, I refuse,” Driver said, crossing her arms, “I am  **not** working with this...creature!”

“Orders are orders, princess,” Troll teased.

“Says the man who doesn’t have to smell her! She smells like a dead rat soaked in sewage!”

Troll began to laugh hysterically and Driver scowled.

“Oh, shut up,” she muttered.

Lady Dokusu walked around Earwig and looked her up and down with a scowl. “This is unacceptable,” she commented, “Is this some sort of test? Why would someone like this be assigned to our team?”

The Troll was still laughing at them and couldn’t answer, and Rhino frowned down at Earwig unhappily.

“...she’s going to have to ride in the van with us.”

“What?! No!” Spinkick cried out.

“Absolutely not!” Driver agreed.

“Hell no!” Flytrap yelled angrily, “She probably has body lice!”

Driver’s eyes widened in horror. “...I never thought of that!”

Lady Dokuso was clearly livid and she abruptly turned away to head back to the van. “I will be reaching out to our contacts. This is obviously a mistake.”

“A rental house has been arranged for you,” Troll informed them, still snickering to himself, “It’s not far, but I’d roll down the van windows if I were you.”

“Well, come on then,” Lady Dokuso snapped, glaring at Earwig, “Everyone in the van.”

Everyone got in the van and Earwig glanced back to the four men still watching everything worriedly. She raised a hand and waved goodbye to them, and then she crawled into the van with the others. As the van pulled away, the windows were all immediately rolled down.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

DD slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Chase leaning down over her worriedly.

“Diana?” he said softly, “How are you feeling?”

DD blinked slowly and considered the question. She’d been feeling sick for so long that she immediately noticed a difference. She was very sore and tired, but she was feeling better than she had in a very long time.

“Good,” she answered, “I feel good.”

Chase let out a breath of relief and gently brushed her hair aside. “Do you remember who I am?” he asked.

DD stared up at him and then nodded. “You said you were my father,” she replied, “Are you really my daddy?”

Chase smiled down at her and nodded. “I am.”

“And I have a mommy too?” DD asked hopefully.

Chase’s smile turned strained. “No, I’m sorry, Diana, but your mommy passed away when you were just a baby. It’s just me.”

DD frowned and felt a bit disappointed, but knew one parent was better than none. She glanced around and saw she was in a room that had garish flowered wallpaper.

“Where am I? This isn’t the lab…”

“No, we took you away from that awful place,” Chase assured her, “You’ll never have to worry about that terrible lab ever again.”

“I bet Doctor Vess was real mad when he found out I was gone,” DD said with a giggle.

Chase grimaced. “Don’t worry about him.”

“Did Mikey come too?” DD asked, “Can I see him?”

“Who?” Chase questioned.

“Michael,” DD replied, “He’s my friend and he’s always really nice to me.”

Chase felt like his blood suddenly froze. “Michael Finnegan?”

DD nodded. “Where is he? Did he run away from the lab too?”

Chase went silent.

“I want to see Mikey!” DD said, quickly realizing something was wrong, “Where is he? What happened to him?!”

“Michael Finnegan is a terrible person,” Chase informed her, “He hurt your mommy, and he was the one who stole you from me. You won’t be seeing him ever again. He’s still at the lab, and you’ll be staying with me from now on.”

DD felt like she was going to cry but she held her tears back and then asked. “And what about Siren?”

Chase’s eyes widened. “You know Siren?”

DD nodded. “He's my friend too. He might act grouchy, but he’s secretly very nice. He brings me toys and plays with me!”

“Siren knew you were at the lab?” Chase asked, starting to get angry.

DD nodded. “We’ve been friends for a long time.”

Chase narrowed his eyes. Siren had known where DD was this entire time and he hadn’t told them. He’d let them believe DD was dead, and he couldn’t fathom why. There was something incredibly suspicious about this situation, and he now knew Siren couldn’t be trusted. Was he actually loyal to V.I.L.E? Had they rescued an enemy? Was the confusion and helplessness an act? Who exactly  **was** Siren, and where did his loyalties lie?

“Where’s Siren?” DD repeated.

“He went home,” Chase responded, wishing Team Crackle had stayed around a bit longer. He wanted to confront Siren with a good punch to the face, but he doubted he would have the chance now that Team Crackle went into hiding.

DD now realized she was alone with strangers and she sucked in a sharp breath of fear. Chase quickly gave her a reassuring smile, not wanting to frighten her.

“It’s alright, Diana, no one will ever hurt you ever again. You’re safe and soon you’ll be well enough and we’ll go home.”

“Home?” DD asked, “Where’s home?”

“Poitiers,” Chase replied, “I will take you home where you can meet your grandparents. My mother is in a care home, and Yu Yan’s parents live about an hour outside the city. You’ll get to meet them all and I know they will love you.”

DD glanced around the room and her expression settled into a frown. “Where’s Greta?”

Chase furrowed his brow. “Who?”

“Greta!” DD repeated.

“I...I don’t know who that is,” Chase told her.

DD let out a huff. “She’s my toy,” she explained, “Siren gave her to me.”

Chase reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple Tamagotchi. “This was in your pocket when we rescued you...”

DD grinned wide and reached out her hands to take it. “Greta!”

Chase allowed her to take it and DD immediately fed and cleaned up after the Tamagotchi. 

“There, now she’s not sad anymore!”

Chase smiled down at her and simply felt relieved she was finally awake. He brought in the rest of the team one by one to meet her, and although she was a bit uncertain, she did her best to be brave. 

Mime Bomb had told Carmen and Otterman what he’d discovered about Michael, and none were quite sure how to feel about it. Carmen was relieved he would no longer be working with V.I.L.E, but she didn’t like the idea of him remaining free. Otterman didn’t really have too much of an opinion on the matter, and although he thought Michael was a douchebag, he still felt sorry for him. 

Their team stayed clear of the main house, and Mikhael and Annika visited them several times a day to chat. No one spoke of Michael, and they simply pretended he didn’t exist. Annika and Mikhael were looking extremely tired and stressed and it was obvious things weren’t going well. They tried to keep things lighthearted but there was a feeling of tension that no one acknowledged.

Matryoshka and Plague Doctor both visited them at the guest house, and they kept them informed of what A.C.M.E was up to. Apparently A.C.M.E had set up a base in San Diego to wait for Carmen to make an appearance. Team Crackle were back in North America but they were staying away for as long as possible.

Doctor after doctor visited DD, and to everyone’s relief she was doing extremely well. Every day she got stronger and stronger, and after two weeks, she was finally able to sit up. DD was extremely shy and quiet at first, but as she got used to everyone, she opened up and laughed and chatted with the team. 

No one had told Chase about Michael being alive, and they did their best to hide it from him. In another two weeks they’d be able to leave with DD, and they hoped he would never find out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Karam stared through the glass in front of her and frowned thoughtfully. Tapping her pen against her clipboard, she studied the woman inside the cell and then continued looking through her notes. Not much was known about Doctor Saira Bellum, but A.C.M.E had linked her to dozens of crimes over the years. Most of the guards and doctors they arrested were more than willing to testify against her, and A.C.M.E had more than enough evidence to keep her behind bars for the rest of her life.

Bellum had committed absolute atrocities ranging from murder to outright attempted genocide and Karam had studied her file extensively. Bellum would never be released, but A.C.M.E was trying to determine if her actions were a result of mental illness or whether she was in her right mind. A.C.M.E had a state of the art mental institution to keep her contained, but they weren’t convinced she belonged there. 

“Are you in any pain, Doctor Bellum?” Karam asked, “I understand that you were injured during the raid on the lab.”

Bellum was sitting cross-legged on a prison cot in sweatpants and a tanktop, and she didn’t so much as spare Karam a glance.

“I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I’m only here to help you,” Karam assured her, “I want to make sure you get the best treatment possible. I’m not here to persecute you, I’m just here to talk.”

Bellum ran a hand through her messy hair and finally looked up. “I know nothing about the lab or whatever this V.I.L.E organization is.”

The only words Bellum had said since being arrested was that she had no idea who V.I.L.E were or what was being done at the lab. She repeated this to anyone who questioned her, and refused to acknowledge that they had proof of her being head faculty.

“A.C.M.E already knows about V.I.L.E and who you are, Doctor Bellum, that’s not even put into question. Let’s not insult one another by pretending otherwise.”

Bellum rolled her eyes.

“That’s not what I’m here to talk about however. I’m just looking to find out how you’re feeling, and to see if there’s anything I can do to help you.”

“I find that extremely unlikely.”

“My name is Karam Quederi and I would like to ask you a few questions if that’s alright.”

Bellum’s eyes widened. “You are related to  **Numa** Quederi?”

This was the first thing Bellum had said that acknowledged she knew anything, and Karam winced.

“...he was my brother,” she replied.

Bellum squinted at her thoughtfully. “The bird flies south during winter.”

Karam furrowed her brow. “Pardon?”

Bellum heaved a disappointed sigh. “Nevermind.”

Bellum seemed to have lost interest in Karam, and looked away towards the wall.

“I’m not going to grill you about anything you did in the past, but I thought we could just have a conversation?”

“Not interested,” Bellum replied, glancing up at the fluorescent lights thoughtfully.

Karam didn’t like that look, and hoped Bellum wasn’t planning anything.

“Surely you must be getting a little lonely down here by yourself?” Karam questioned.

“I am happiest when I’m alone with my thoughts.”

Karam made a few notes on her clipboard and then looked back up. “It must have been very difficult being a woman in your field in India,” she stated, “Many of the same hardships exist for Yemeni women as well. Women have to work twice as hard and be twice as strong to make it in the medical field but yet they’re still paid less than a man.”

Bellum said nothing.

“My records show that you are the youngest of five daughters in your family. Your sisters were married by the time they were sixteen and you were married as well…”

Bellum muttered something under her breath but didn’t look at her.

“How old were you when you had a husband chosen for you?”

“Why are you asking me this?” Bellum demanded, “It doesn’t matter. I had the marriage annulled and I left my family to pursue my education. I had no interest in a domestic life.”

“You were eleven and he was fifty-three.”

Bellum tensed briefly before her same aloof posture was back. Karam eyed her reaction carefully and then continued.

“It took a lot of courage and strength to stand up to tradition and leave your family. You managed to get three doctorates despite the social stigma and on a full scholarship no less. You then went on to invent many incredible things, and you could have been the scientist of the century.”

Bellum glanced back at her but she remained silent.

“The reason why I’m bringing this up is to show that I understand your struggles and I can appreciate your accomplishments. The only thing I cannot understand is why you chose to use your gifts for evil instead of to help the world. What happened, Doctor Bellum, why did you join V.I.L.E?”

Bellum gave her a careless shrug and then sighed deeply. “I was tired of my experiments always being restricted. Too much red tape and paperwork to get anything done.”

Karam frowned. “And V.I.L.E gave you that freedom?”

“V.I.L.E allowed me to do anything I wanted without restriction,” Bellum agreed, finally admitting to her involvement.

“...and they did the same for my brother?” Karam asked hesitantly.

“Your brother was a genius and V.I.L.E made him great,” Bellum stated, “It was a shame he was killed before his experiments could be completed.”

“Tell me about his experiments, what exactly were you two doing at that lab?”

Bellum squinted at her. “I want a lawyer.”

“I’m not law enforcement, I just want to understand more about my brother,” Karam assured her.

“Lawyer.”

“I shouldn’t have pried like that but was curious since it somehow involves my brother. He was missing for nearly two decades and I just want to know what happened.”

Bellum narrowed her eyes. “ **Lawyer** .” 

Karam sighed and then gave her a nod. “Very well, I’ll get you a lawyer. In the meantime, please eat something, you can’t keep starving yourself.”

Bellum glanced over at her untouched lunch tray which contained a ham sandwich and an apple.

“Perhaps if the food wasn’t so...subpar, that wouldn’t be an issue.”

Karam wondered if this would be a way to earn a bit of trust. “Would you like me to bring you something else? Something from your home country? Some curry perhaps?”

Bellum eyed her for a moment. “A Big Mac and fries,” she replied, flopping over onto her mattress.

This was not what Karam was expecting, but she nodded all the same. “...I’ll see what I can do...”

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael was lightly dozing when he heard his bedroom door open. He ignored it and didn’t bother opening his eyes. No one spoke to him and a few moments later, the door closed again. Assuming it was a shift change, Michael grumbled under his breath and didn’t move. He felt a sudden weight settle on the bed beside him and knew it was likely his grandmother. What he wasn’t expecting however, was suddenly being licked across the face.

Michael gasped in surprise and opened his eyes.

He was met with the sight of a dog staring directly into his face. It immediately licked him again. Michael had no idea why there was a dog in his room but he couldn’t will himself to care. He stared at the dog for a few moments and then closed his eyes, not especially caring. He could feel the dog shifting around on the bed, but he ignored it and soon drifted back to sleep.

He dreamt of Vess like every other dream since he’d learned of his death. He and Vess were walking down a beach that seemed to stretch on forever and they were holding hands. Michael was feeling happier than he thought possible and Vess seemed relaxed and content. They were barefoot and dressed casually, and the sunset was bathing the beach in a golden light.

Michael spotted a beautiful blue shell on the sand and he released Vess’ hand so he could kneel down to pick it up. Brushing the sand from it, he straightened up and saw Vess had continued on without him.

“Numa, wait up!” Michael called out with a laugh, “Are you leaving me?”

Vess didn’t turn and he continued walking along at the same leisurely pace. 

“Numa!” Michael complained, jogging to catch up to him.

Michael reached out for Vess’ hand who finally turned to look at him. Vess’ face was burnt into nothing but bone, his eye sockets dead and empty. Michael let out a scream and woke up. Gasping in absolute terror, he began to shake as fresh tears came to his eyes.

He was startled when the dog suddenly appeared out of nowhere and licked at his tears. Michael pulled away and simply curled into a tight ball of misery, wishing he could die. He felt the dog lay down beside him, the warmth of its fur pressing into his side. Michael remained curled up like that until his back grew stiff and he finally shifted into a different position. His hand felt soft fur from beside him and he slowly opened his eyes.

The dog was gazing straight at him only inches from his face and Michael simply stared at it. He didn’t have the mental energy to comprehend this, and he rolled away from the dog. He could feel the dog curl up against his back and that’s where it remained as he stared at the wall.

Michael ignored everyone who spoke to him and reacted to nothing as they tried to coax him to eat or drink. There was an IV in his arm keeping him hydrated but Michael knew he was losing weight. His clothes no longer fit him properly and he was feeling weak and tired all the time now.

Michael fell asleep that night and once again dreamt of Vess. He dreamed that Carmen Sandiego had kidnapped him, and he was trying everything to get him back. When he finally fought his way to Vess, he saw he had been tortured. Everything he had done to Mime Bomb had been done to Vess and there was blood absolutely everywhere. Every cut and every bruise was the same, and it made Michael feel sick just to look at it.

“An eye for an eye, Mj,” Carmen told him, smiling at him innocently, “Finish the job.”

Michael then looked down and saw he was holding the knife that had sliced up Vess. His hands were stained in blood and Michael gasped and dropped the knife to the floor. When he looked up, Vess was on fire and screaming.

Michael jerked awake again and let out a scream of frustration and pain. He pulled at his hair and wished he could end this. Suddenly the dog was pushing itself under his arm and licking at his face.

“Ugh!” Michael complained, “Where the hell did you even come from?! Why are you in my room?”

The dog’s response was to lick him again. Michael finally gave a good look at it and saw it was the most bizarre looking dog he’d ever seen.

The dog was long-haired and its coat was unlike anything Michael had ever seen on a dog. Its fur was black with orange stripes, and Michael reached out to run his fingers through its soft fur. The dog licked his fingertips and Michael frowned at it. Letting out a deep sigh, he pushed it away and then curled back into a ball of misery. 

He heard people take the dog out of his room several times that day for walks, and he assumed it was Sebastian’s dog. Sebastian had a love for enormous dogs and he never had less than three at a time. He was always bragging about whatever newest rare dog he’d obtained, and Michael had a feeling Sebastian was bringing it in just to torment him. He knew Sebastian hated him, and the fact the other man was forced to babysit him all day probably didn’t help matters.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sebastian was seated at his desk reading a novel. That confirmed it in his mind, and Michael let out a deep sigh. He didn’t have the energy to fight against this injustice and decided to just ignore Sebastian and his stupid dog.

That night when Michael had a nightmare, it was the worst one yet. He dreamed his entire family was burning alongside Vess, and Michael was the one holding the match. He stared into the flames as everyone he had ever loved burned, and he made no move to help them. They screamed and begged for him to help them but he simply watched them burn. Michael saw the betrayal in his grandmother’s eyes as she died, and Michael once again woke up screaming.

Shaking and sobbing hysterically, he didn’t even react when the dog once again pushed its way under his arm so it could lick at him. Michael went to push it away but when his fingers sunk into its soft fur, he didn’t want to let go. He found himself wrapping his arm around the dog and hugging it as tightly as he could. The dog didn’t seem bothered by this and simply laid there wagging its tail and licking his tears away.

Michael woke up hours later still clinging to the dog and he ran his fingers through the soft fur. He found the repetitive motion helped a bit and so he just laid there silently petting the dog. Michael stared at the large brown eyes that were looking up at him and he let out a deep sigh. Finally pushing the dog aside, he went to roll back over away from it, but the dog wasn’t ready to be ignored. It jumped on top of him and Michael flashed it a glare and pushed it away again.

He caught a glimpse of gold around the dog’s neck and he frowned suspiciously. Reaching out, he brushed aside the thick fur and discovered an expensive looking name tag attached to its collar. 

‘ **Tiger** ’

He turned the tag over and to his shock he saw he was listed as the owner. Michael immediately scowled. He didn’t want a dog or any other pet. He wanted to die alone and miserable.

Tiger licked him in the face again and he sputtered and then shoved the dog off the bed. It sat there staring at him with a happy look on its face and Michael narrowed his eyes. They were trying to replace Vess with a dog and it wasn’t going to work. Did they seriously think a stupid mutt was going to make anything better?!

Picking up a pillow, he threw it at the dog as hard as he could. He wasn’t used to throwing with his left arm and he missed by a good five feet, and it landed on the other side of the room. To his surprise Tiger trotted across the room, picked up the pillow and then carried it back to him. Michael took the pillow back and then threw it again. Tiger bounded after it and brought it back to him.

“You’re stupid,” Michael grumbled.

The dog wagged its tail in response.

Michael rolled his eyes and then flopped back down onto the mattress, deciding to just ignore it. He laid there until his grandparents came to see him like they did several times a day. He remained silent as they spoke to him, and he half-listened as Mikhael told him stories about his youth. Annika sat beside him and spoke to him in Russian but Michael couldn’t be bothered to try to understand her words. 

“You will get up today?” Annika repeated in English.

Michael said nothing. 

They sat with him for over an hour and then he was left alone with Sebastian and the dog once again. Supper was bought for him but Michael didn’t even bother opening his eyes. A cold nose pressed into his neck and Michael nearly jumped a mile in surprise. He glared at the dog but it simply whined at him.

“Piss off!” Michael snarled.

The dog whined again and nudged him.

“What?” Michael demanded, “What do you want?”

The dog barked and Michael glanced towards the door. Did it want out? 

Tiger barked again and then glanced towards the plate. Oh... It was hungry.

Michael very slowly sat up, feeling weak and extremely stiff. Reaching for the plate on his bedside table, he saw it was pizza. He knew his grandparents both hated pizza, and figured they had it made specifically for him. 

“You want pizza?” Michael asked.

Tiger licked its lips expectantly.

Ripping off a corner of the crust, he offered it to the dog who gently removed it from his fingers before wolfing it down greedily. It gave him an eager look and Michael snorted and ripped off a bit more crust. He held it out and Tiger practically inhaled it. As Michael was ripping off a third piece, the smell of the pizza hit him and his stomach growled. Frowning at his body’s betrayal, Michael glanced down at the pizza.

“They know I don’t like peppers,” he grumbled, picking a green pepper off and giving it to the dog.

Michael took a bite of the pizza and then tore off a bite for the dog as well. They spent the next few minutes sharing the pizza and then Michael set the empty plate down for the dog to lick. This was the first time Michael had eaten since the lab had been raided, and it made him feel a little sick. Rubbing his stomach with a frown, he flopped back down onto his mattress.

“There, now leave me alone.”

Tiger jumped back up onto his bed and curled up at his side, and Michael closed his eyes. He heard how happy his grandmother seemed when she saw the empty plate, and she patted him on the head affectionately. 

“He shared it with the dog,” Sebastian whispered lowly.

Michael scowled. Leave it to the snitch to tattle on absolutely everything he did no matter how minor. His grandmother kissed Michael’s cheek and a few moments later she was gone. Just that small amount of exertion had worn him out, and Michael fell asleep. 

Michael dreamed he and Vess lived a normal life and they were happy. They owned a pizzeria together, and they delighted the villagers with all the unique flavours they came up with. Vess was no longer a doctor but a cook instead who was proud of his food. Michael dealt with the customers and was friendly with everyone. He and Vess wore matching wedding rings, and their wedding photo hung on the wall in a place of honour.

Michael woke up feeling bitter and robbed. The dream had been good and that made real life even worse. Vess was dead, and none of that would ever happen. Rolling over, he came face to face with Tiger who thumped their tail and greeted him with a sloppy lick across the face.

“Bleck!” Michael cried out, shoving the dog off the bed, “Get away from me!”

Michael shot it a glare, and then closed his eyes, intent on going back to sleep. Tiger had other ideas however and jumped on top of him excitedly.

“Augh!” Michael complained, “Go away!”

Tiger nudged him with a cold nose and Michael flailed at the dog who was undeterred. Michael let out a huff of annoyance and sat up. He stared at the dog for a long time, and then sighed and reached his hand out to touch the soft fur.

“I should strangle you,” Michael threatened, “Damn fucking nuisance.”

“Your grandparents paid a lot of money to get you that dog.”

Michael nearly had a heart attack and looked up and saw Sebastian was standing in the corner of the room. He hadn’t noticed him there, and realized he’d been watching him. Michael scowled at him and looked away.

“Tiger is a specially trained service dog, and she’ll be able to help you recover,” Sebastian informed him, “She’s a Longhaired Brindle Dutch Shepherd.”

“ **She** ?!” Michael repeated, “They got me a fucking  **girl** dog?!”

Sebastian simply nodded.

“That’s gay,” Michael snapped, “I don’t want a  **girl** dog. Take it away and get me a  **real** pet!”

Sebastian heaved a sigh, and said nothing more. The fact Michael was talking was already a huge improvement, and he knew they now just had to have a  **lot** of patience.

Michael shoved the dog off his bed but was annoyed when it hopped right back up.

“Go away!” Michael snapped, once again shoving the dog off the bed.

Tiger jumped right back up, and seemed excited at this new game. Michael shot it a glare, and then sighed.

“Very good, you seem to be a little more active this morning,” Sebastian said, “We have plans for you today.”

Michael groaned and glared over his shoulder at the other man. He saw that Sebastian had the wheelchair ready and was wearing a jacket, hat and gloves.

Michael narrowed his eyes. “What’s  **that** for?” he demanded.

“You’ve been sulking in here for long enough,” Sebastian replied, “It’s time for you to get a little fresh air. Tomorrow you will meeting with your new therapist.”

“Not interested,” Michael answered, flopping back down onto the mattress.

“Sorry, but this is non-negotiable,” Sebastian replied, “You need intensive therapy, and your grandparents hired a very expensive specialist. You’re going outside for a while today whether you like it or not, and you’re going to be grateful for everyone trying to help you.”

“Fuck off,” Michael muttered, “Leave me to die.”

“Stop being so dramatic,” Sebastian scolded, approaching him, “You’re well enough to get up now.”

“Touch me and I’ll kill you,” Michael threatened.

Sebastian’s response to that was to reach down and pull Michael up so he was sitting. Michael was startled but he immediately lashed out, realizing too late it was with the wrong arm. Letting out a screech of agony, he felt tears come to his eyes as the stump of his arm felt like it had torn open. Sebastian took that opportunity to shift Michael off the bed and into the wheelchair, buckling him in before he had a chance to react.

Tiger hopped down off the bed excitedly and Michael swung out at Sebastian a second time, this time with his left arm. The other man was out of range however and Michael struggled uselessly against the seatbelt. He tried to unclasp it, but to his embarrassment, he realized he needed two hands to do it. 

“Stop!” Michael yelled out as he was wheeled out of the room, “I don’t want to go! Stop!”

Sebastian ignored him and a few moments later they were headed down the hallway towards the loading elevator. Tiger trotted along beside them, excited that she was seemingly going for a walk. Michael was furious that he was being forced to leave his room like this and he continued struggling with the seatbelt, getting angrier and angrier. When they reached the bottom floor, Michael was glowering and when someone approached them, he turned that angry look on them. 

A tall dark-haired man he didn’t know stood there and Sebastian seemed surprised to see him.

“Oh! Are you planning on taking Master Michael for his walk?” Sebastian questioned.

The man silently nodded his head and Sebastian immediately stepped aside.

“Have fun you two,” Sebastian stated, “Don’t stay out too long.”

To Michael’s fury, the stranger took Sebastian’s place and began pushing his wheelchair. Michael glared up at him and scowled.

“I don’t want to go out,” he stated.

The dark-haired man said nothing and continued heading towards the door.

Michael sighed heavily and slumped in the chair, not having the energy to fight about anything. He allowed himself to be zipped into a coat, and a hat and glove were placed on him and he said nothing. The door was then opened and Michael was pushed out where the sun felt absolutely blinding. Neither Michael nor the man said a single word as they went for a walk through the grounds of the manor. The snow had been cleared and although it was cold, it was tolerable.

Tiger trotted along beside Michael and after fifteen minutes they came to a stop beside the flower gardens which were covered in a thick layer of snow. Michael glanced up at the man and then looked away, wondering what they were doing there. Michael turned his gaze to the scenery and he stared towards the maze observing how everything was covered in a thick layer of ice.

The man let go of the wheelchair and reached into the pocket of his coat. He then threw something as hard as he could across the field and Tiger rocketed after it excitedly. A few seconds later she brought back a bright red ball and spit it at the man’s feet. He threw it again and again silently and never once said a word to Michael or to Tiger. Michael watched with disinterest but then to his disgust, Tiger plopped the drool-covered ball into his lap.

“Ew, get out of here!” Michael snapped, slapping the ball away from him.

Tiger acted like he’d just thrown it and bounced after it with a happy bark. She dropped it back on his lap a second later and Michael glared at her.

“I don’t want to play with you.”

Tiger nudged him, never once taking her eyes from the ball.

“You throw it,” Michael ordered the man.

The man glanced down at him and didn’t move.

“I don’t know how long you’ve worked here, but servants do as they’re told!” Michael snapped, “Throw the damn ball!”

The man raised a brow and made no move to do as Michael ordered.

Michael narrowed his eyes at him and then threw the ball himself. He had every intention of complaining about the man later and getting him fired. He didn’t like the idea of servants ignoring him.

Tiger ran after the ball and Michael winced in pain. His muscles were incredibly stiff from laying in bed for so long, and he moved his arm a bit trying to loosen it up. Tiger was back a moment later and he threw it again and then again. The man then took a few turns, and Michael’s muscles already felt a bit looser. He tired extremely quickly however, and after a few dozen throws he couldn’t do any more.

“I’m tired and cold,” Michael complained, “Can we go back inside now?”

The man glanced down at him and cocked his head.

“Please?” Michael asked, just wanting to rest.

The man placed the ball back in his pocket, and then approached him. He began wheeling him back towards the house without a word and Michael was beginning to wonder if he even spoke English. He’d never met this servant before and wondered if his grandparents had hired him to take him for walks. Michael had no intention of ever using this wheelchair again and so this man had been hired for nothing. There was something oddly familiar about the man though, and Michael found himself studying his face trying to figure it out.

Michael was half frozen as they entered the manor and he saw Sebastian waiting with two cups of hot cocoa. Michael accepted one without a word as Sebastian turned to the man.

“How was your walk, Master Dmitry? Did you two have fun?”

The man said nothing and simply accepted the cocoa and then walked off without ever uttering a single word. Michael stared after him with wide eyes. Master Dmitry...Dmitry Volkov...his father. That man was his  **father** !

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**TBC**

**I will aim to have the next chapter out within 2 weeks. :)**

**Credit for the names of Otterman and Moose Boy go to Animedemon01**

**Comments make the author happy! ^_^**

**Please don't forget to let me know what you think!**


	4. Quebec

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of Team Red Family series
> 
> Healing is a long and difficult process. V.I.L.E caused so much pain and damage that everyone is struggling to recover from it. Everything feels like it's broken beyond repair, and now there's a new threat looming over them.
> 
> The Spider controls everything from the shadows and now she has her sights set on taking down Team Red and Team Crackle. Team Shadow is coming for them, whether they're ready or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Here's a chapter that is completely Team Crackle! The Light is going to be mainly focused on character development and will be a slower fic. Hopefully everyone is okay with that. 
> 
> This chapter is a bit longer than I intended, and most future chapters will only be between 5-10k words.
> 
> An enormous thank you to the very awesome Violetfic and Coulrosaurus for being my betas! You guys really helped improve this story a lot and you're awesome!
> 
> Please note that several characters use the F-word extremely frequently in their everyday speech. You have been warned.
> 
> Dr. Vess and Karam were created by Violetfic, and I am using them with her permission.
> 
> If there are any artists who would like to draw for this story, please let me know and I'll add your artwork to the chapter so everyone can see it!
> 
> If you're enjoying the story so far, please let me know your thoughts. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms as it helps me improve the story.
> 
> Happy Reading!

**XXXXXXXXXX** **XXXXXXX**

**The Light**

**Chapter 4**

**Quebec**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was dark when their flight finally landed in Montreal and everyone was exhausted. Team Crackle had disguised themselves as civilians and taken regular flights with fake names and they hoped they’d travelled undetected. Carrying suitcases and cat carriers, no one was very talkative as they stepped down the airstairs to the tarmac.Dash was waiting on board as a ramp was put into place for Neal, and a few minutes later he joined them after wheeling Neal down. 

They’d had a bit of a difficult time getting Siren through airport security since he’d scream and thrash every time someone tried to pat him down. Crackle explained that Siren was disabled and just required a more gentle approach. The airports were actually very accommodating and they allowed the twins to hold Siren’s hand as they scanned him thoroughly. 

After four flights, everyone was exhausted and just wanted to find a bed and crash. Crackle made sure they had all their bags and then he turned to Otterman.

“Did you get us a rental?”

Otterman nodded as he let Findus out of her carrier so he could hold her. “Yes, it took some doing but I found us something for an **extremely** good price.”

Neal rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you did, Scrooge McDuck.”

“Can we stop and get food,” Roosevelt demanded, “I’m starving.”

“Not in the budget,” Otterman replied, “I brought granola bars for tonight.”

“Sven,” Crackle scolded, “We haven’t really eaten all day and we’re tired and hungry. We’re stopping for food.”

Otterman heaved a longsuffering sigh and then pulled out his ledger. “Fine, I can authorize…$10 each.”

“$10?” Dash argued, “What can you buy for $10?”

“Good enough for me!” Neal said, “That will buy like 3 McDoubles.”

“No, not McDonalds,” Dash snapped, “Anywhere but there!”

“Taco bell is cheap,” Neal suggested.

“That’s even worse!”

They continued to bicker as they headed across the tarmac towards the parking lot and Crackle ignored them, too tired to put a stop to it. Seeing the parking lot was packed, they glanced around and saw quite a few vans.

“Which one is ours?” Crackle asked.

“That one over there!” Otterman said pointing to their left.

As they walked along, Crackle started to head for the nearby van but then realized Otterman had walked by it. Following after him in confusion, he then saw Otterman wasn’t headed towards a van, but rather the ugliest RV he had ever seen in his life.

“Sven…?” Crackle questioned, “Why did you rent us an RV?”

“We’re going to save a fortune in motel costs!” Otterman said excitedly, “I got it for an excellent price, and if we all double up in bed, there’s room for us all!”

Dash stared at the RV and looked like he was going to combust, but then he simply closed his eyes and let out a sigh of defeat. 

“I want new sheets and new pillows,” he said firmly, “I’m not using hobo blankets.”

“Don’t worry, everything has already been arranged,” Otterman replied, “I had the RV scrubbed clean and new sheets and pillows for everyone.”

Crackle eyed the RV and wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure this is going to be big enough?” he asked, “The twins and Henrik take up a lot of space...”

“There are four very small rooms with a bed in each. The twins will take the largest bed, and it will **just** fit all eight of us.”

“Nine,” Crackle corrected.

Otterman blinked at him in confusion.

“There are **nine** of us, Sven,” Crackle replied, pointing to Siren.

Otterman’s eyes widened and then he let out a curse in Swedish. “...I forgot to include Delano. There’s no room for him!”

“Way to go, genius,” Dash snapped, crossing his arms.

“Well, maybe we can find room for him somewhere…” Otterman said, glancing uncertainly towards the RV, “Maybe he can sleep on the couch or something?

“It’s okay,” Theodore assured him, “Del can sleep with Roose and I. He’s little and we’ll make room for him.”

“If you two roll over on him, that would be the end of him,” Neal pointed out.

“Naw, he used to sleep with us all the time before V.I.L.E academy. We won’t squash him.” Roosevelt replied, ruffling Siren’s hair affectionately.

Siren made a grumpy sounding noise but he didn’t try to pull away.

Crackle frowned at the RV but he decided he wasn’t going to argue about it. He’d given full monetary control to Otterman, and so far the man had managed to keep them afloat even when they barely had two cents to rub together.

“Couldn’t you have rented a **nice** RV at least?” Dash grumbled, “We hit it big with our last heist and we can afford it.”

“Yes, but we never got a chance to sell the loot before all of this mess with Volkov happened,” Otterman replied, “The jewelry and ore is still sitting back in San Diego in our basement. We have to stretch what funds we have until we return back to California.”

“How much do we have?” Neal asked.

Otterman frowned. “Sorry, but that’s confidential!” he said firmly.

Everyone rolled their eyes. Otterman never let his cash-box out of his sight, going so far as to keep it on a chain around his neck, and so they had no idea if they had $100 in there or $10,000. 

“Let’s just go get supper and then get settled in,” Crackle said, opening the RV door. 

The door let out an awful squeak and Crackle knew he’d have to take a look at that later. The inside of the RV was actually quite clean and even Dash couldn’t find fault with it. There was a small sitting area just big enough for them all in the kitchen, and then in the rest of the RV was four small rooms with beds. The bathroom was incredibly small and the half-size bathtub almost seemed comical.

“The only two who would be able to use that thing comfortably are Paper Star and Delano,” Crackle commented.

“We can just use the shower instead,” Otterman replied, “We have everything we need here.”

“Uh, guys?” Neal called from outside, “A little help, please?”

“Oh right,” Otterman said, “There should be a handicap ramp around here somewhere for him.”

Moose Boy had been silent this entire time and finally Otterman glanced over at him. Moose Boy was staring at his com with extreme focus and he didn’t seem to notice anything happening around him.

“What are you doing, Henrik?”

Moose Boy didn’t answer.

“Henrik?”

Moose Boy remained silent, his gaze still on his com.

“HENRIK,” Otterman said loudly.

Moose Boy finally glanced up. “Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Neal showed me this puzzle and I’m trying to solve it,” Moose Boy replied, “I’ve been trying to figure it out for two hours now.”

Otterman narrowed his eyes suspiciously and he shot a glare in Neal’s direction. “Can I see?”

Moose Boy handed over his com and Otterman held it close so he could see it.

“Oh,” Otterman said in surprise, “It’s one of those optical illusion pictures. It’s supposed to have some sort of hidden image in it, right?”

Moose Boy nodded. “Yeah, Neal said there’s an Otter hidden in the picture but I can’t find it anywhere. I was going to show you once I found it...”

Otterman shifted his eyes a bit and saw the image wasn’t of an otter, but rather a very crude picture. He let out a sigh of annoyance and shot Neal a glare who had just been wheeled on board.

“Very mature, Neal,” he called over.

Neal glanced over and when he saw the com, he grinned. “Oh? Did I not see the image correctly, love? It looked like an otter to me.”

Otterman rolled his eyes and then handed Moose Boy his com back. “Neal was teasing you, there’s no otter.”

Moose Boy frowned at his com and then let out a huff of annoyance. “I **knew** it was just squiggles!”

Roosevelt started the engine and everyone was relieved when it started with no problem. As they pulled out of the airport parking lot, Otterman pulled his cashbox out of his shirt and handed each person a ten dollar bill.

“American money is worth a little more in Canada,” he stated, “That should get us each a fast food combo.”

Theodore glanced down at the two ten dollar bills in his hand and then looked down at Siren. He really doubted he'd be able to get him to eat anything and it had been a struggle to even get him to drink. They’d used the feeding tube before the flight but he knew his brother was likely getting hungry again.

“We’ll need to stop to get Del food we can blend.” he stated.

“We can stop after we eat,” Roosevelt replied.

“We can’t eat in front of him, that’s mean,” Theodore protested.

“I’m sure he won’t mind,” Neal said, wheeling over to them, “Maybe the smell of the food will entice him to eat on his own?”

“Oh...maybe,” Theodore said hopefully, “He’s never really liked fast food though. He always liked the fancier places.”

“I see a Dairy Queen!” Roosevelt called back, “Should I pull over?”

“Dairy Queen is fine with me,” Crackle stated.

“I don’t care,” Paper Star stated.

“Yeah, Dairy Queen sounds perfect, Roose!” Neal called over.

Roosevelt pulled into the parking lot and they were relieved to see it was still open. Everyone piled out of the van, and they made their way towards the door.

“Who speaks French?” Neal said, glancing around at his team.

No one spoke up and they exchanged a sudden look of realization. None of them spoke French and they were in Quebec.

“... _skit_ ,” Otterman muttered, “French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world! How come **none** of you speak it?!”

“Well, how come **you** don’t?” Dash shot back.

“I already speak four languages fluently,” Otterman shot back, “How many do **you** speak?”

“...two,” Dash admitted with a wince.

Otterman let out a snort but didn’t say anything more.

“No worries,” Neal assured them, “If all else fails, just point at what you want.”

When the team entered the restaurant, the cashier sighed at the large group of people and she glanced over at the clock which showed it was thirty minutes before closing.

“Bonjour, love!” Neal called over to her, "Parlez vous Anglais?”

The cashier winced at the bad pronunciation and then gave him a nod.

“Yes, most people can speak English in Montreal,” the cashier replied, “Just to let you know we’ll be closing shortly.”

“We won’t be long,” Crackle assured her.

The cashier didn’t seem very enthused but she managed to muster up a fake smile for them. “What can I get you?”

Crackle glanced up at the menu and made his choice, and the others placed their orders as well. They were the only customers in the store and Siren hesitantly let go of Theodore’s hand. He wandered a short distance away, and the twins were both keeping a close eye on him worriedly. When Siren then headed into the nearby bathroom, Theodore immediately started after him but Crackle caught him by the arm.

“I’m sure he can manage in the bathroom alone, Teddy,” he assured him, “There’s no one else here and he’ll be fine.”

Theodore glanced over at Roosevelt who simply shrugged and so he gave Crackle a hesitant nod. The first order of fries were set on their tray and Neal immediately reached up to take one.

“Hey!” Dash scolded, “You don’t know that one is yours!”

Neal didn’t seem concerned. “Are you really going to begrudge me a fry, Dashie?”

“I only ordered fries and shake and so I don’t have anything to spare,” Dash retorted, “In fact, I had to pay two dollars of my **own** money.”

Neal rolled his eyes. “The rest of us got real food and you got a $7 fancy milkshake,” he pointed out, “I’m surprised you’re drinking something like that.”

Dash gave a shrug. “I had a craving for chocolate, and I figured this was a special occasion since we’re on vacation. Sometimes a few extra calories are okay.”

Neal smiled at him wide, and Dash felt his face redden. He’d finally begun eating normal meals and he felt better than he had in a long time. Cleo had starved him to the point he was sick, and so now his body was finally recovering. 

Siren returned from the restroom and wandered the empty restaurant making sure his brothers were always in his line of sight.

The cashier began loading the trays with food and Dash helped Neal carry his tray to one of the tables. When he returned to the counter, he saw a tray with just fries on it and so he waited as everyone else claimed their food. Dash waited and waited and the cashier pointedly ignored him. After waiting five minutes, he grew impatient.

“Excuse me?” Dash finally called over to her.

She sighed and then came over to the counter. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“I didn’t get my shake.”

“Yes you did,” the cashier stated, “If you want another one, you’ll have to pay for it.”

“I didn’t get it!” Dash insisted, instantly getting annoyed.

The cashier crossed her arms. “I made it myself, Sir, and I gave you your milkshake.”

Dash narrowed his eyes, fully prepared to make this cashier’s existence miserable. “Does it **look** like I have it?” he snapped, “If you already made it, then where is it?”

The cashier pointed to his left and Dash turned and saw Siren standing a few feet away sipping on his milkshake while staring out the window.

“Delano stole my milkshake!” Dash cried out.

Everyone glanced up from their food and the twins were surprised. This was the first thing Siren had willingly eaten, and it was honestly a relief. He was holding onto that shake with a deathgrip and it was clear he wasn’t letting go without a fight.

“Here, Dash,” Otterman called over, holding out another ten dollar bill, “Order yourself another one. Del apparently decided he wanted a milkshake too.”

Dash accepted the money, and honestly wasn’t that upset over it. He doubted it was done maliciously, and was willing to let it slide. Turning back to the cashier, he felt a little embarrassed and he carefully didn’t meet her gaze.

“Um...I’ll have another shake, please.”

“Apology accepted,” she stated, “$7.45.”

Dash meekly paid and then patiently waited as she made him a new shake. When she handed it over, he carried his tray over and sat down across from Neal. Everyone was in much better spirits now that they were eating and they laughed and chatted as the workers began cleaning the tables around them. 

Siren was still aimlessly wandering around the dining room as he sipped on his milkshake, and his gaze settled on the flashing arcade game set up in the corner. He made no move to touch it but he stared at the flashing lights and bright colours curiously. He didn’t notice when the workers stepped between him and where his brothers were sitting nearby, and simply sipped on the shake silently. The workers began mopping the floor and the sound caused Siren to turn around. When he saw he was suddenly cornered by strangers with no way out, his reaction was immediate.

Siren dropped the milkshake to the floor and then let out a terrified screech as he scrambled to get away from them. The workers jumped in surprise and when they didn’t back away from him, Siren began grabbing anything and everything he could to throw at them. Napkins and forks were showered everywhere, and Siren was getting more and more panicked by the moment.

“Del!” Theodore called out, getting up from his seat as fast as he could.

Siren grabbed hold of the large condiment dispenser and before anyone could stop him, he threw it to the floor, a wave of ketchup, mustard and relish spraying everywhere. He was now completely hysterical, and the workers could only stare in shock and horror as he threw another pile of napkins at them. Just as he was reaching for the second condiment dispenser, Theodore reached him and yanked him away the counter. Siren immediately clung to him and began to sob, and Theodore scooped him up and headed for the door without a single word.

Crackle stared at the trashed restaurant and then at the shellshocked workers.

“Er...sorry about that, mates,” he said, quickly grabbing the rest of his food and hurrying out the door.

There were a few more murmured apologies from the rest of Team Crackle and then they all hurried for the door. By the time the workers got over their shock, Team Crackle were already peeling out of the parking lot as fast as they could. The two teenagers looked out the window at the retreating RV and then at the enormous mess. They exchanged a long look of resignation and then got started on cleaning.

Siren kicked and struggled as Theodore tried to calm him down, and he screamed as loudly as he could. Theodore had both arms wrapped tightly around his brother so he couldn’t hurt himself and he was speaking to him in a steady and calm tone of voice. Finally Siren began to calm down as they drove along the highway, and he simply buried himself into Theodore’s side and cried.

“What happened?” Otterman asked.

“No idea,” Neal replied, “One minute he was fine and the next he went full exorcist!”

“Something must have set him off, but I’m not sure what,” Theodore stated, looking down at his little brother in worry, “He was just scared.”

“I think it scared him when the two girls stepped between him and the rest of us,” Paper Star observed, “I think he feels vulnerable being away from you, Ted.”

“Come on, Del, it’s okay,” Theodore assured him, “No one’s gonna hurt you. Roose and I are here and we’d never let anything happen to you!”

When Siren finally went quiet, Theodore looked him up and down and saw every inch of Siren was smeared in ketchup and mustard.

“Aw, Del, it’s even in your hair,” Theodore commented, “You’re a mess!”

“How is he?” Roosevelt called from up front.

“He’s okay, Roose,” Theodore called back, “He just got scared.”

“Do I need to beat anyone up?” Roosevelt demanded.

“No, not this time,” Crackle responded in amusement.

“Sven, can Del borrow some more of your clothes?” Theodore asked, “You’re the next smallest besides Shiko, and I’m **not** dressing Del in girls clothes!”

“Sure, I’ll find you something,” Otterman said, not mentioning the fact that all clothes Siren had worn up to that point had belonged to Paper Star.

Theodore nodded and then glanced down at Siren. “Come on, Del, let’s get you cleaned up, alright?”

Siren said nothing, and so Theodore gently coaxed him to his feet, leading him to the tiny bathroom. A few moments later, they could hear the sound of water being run.

“Well, I have a feeling things are going to be interesting with Del around,” Neal commented.

“I really hope he doesn’t do that every time we stop for food,” Crackle replied, looking a bit flustered.

Otterman let out a snort as he pulled out his ledger to make a few notes. “Yeah, like we can afford takeout for every meal, Graham.”

Crackle gave him an alarmed look. 

“There’s a reason why I got an camper with a full kitchenette,” he explained, looking through his neatly folded clothes, “We can cook our meals here and save tons of cash that way.”

“Where am I going?” Roosevelt called back to them.

“There’s a Walmart straight ahead a few kilometers,” Otterman responded, “We can pick up a few groceries.”

“What’s a kilometer?” Roosevelt demanded.

Otterman sighed. “Just keep driving until you see a Walmart.”

“Okay!”

Siren suddenly started to scream in pain and Crackle reacted instinctively and ran to the bathroom. Throwing open the door, stood in the doorway, and saw Siren was sitting naked in the bath fighting with Theodore who was trying to wash his hair.

“What’s wrong?” Crackle demanded.

“His hair is all matted and I’m trying to untangle it,” Theodore explained, ignoring the fist that connected with his chin, “I’m trying to be gentle, but the brush is pulling…I think I might need to just cut his hair off.”

“Did you just say you’re trying to brush out **mats**?!” Dash cried in horror from the other room.

“Yeah?” Theodore responded.

Dash suddenly shoved Crackle out of his way and forced his way into the tiny bathroom. “Unhand him, you big **brute**!” he snapped.

Theodore gave him a surprised look but did let go of Siren’s hair. Siren took one last swing as his brother and then simply sat there looking very small and miserable.

“Out of my way,” Dash ordered, as he pushed Theodore away from the bathtub, “I’m not letting you rip through his hair like a monster. Someone go get my toiletries bag.”

Crackle felt like there was nothing else he could do, so he backed out of the bathroom and went to fetch Dash’s bag. He returned a moment later and after giving Dash the bag, he left the room and closed the door.

They could hear Dash bossing the job and telling Theodore what to do and they suspected that Siren wouldn’t let Dash touch him. Otterman had a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants Paper Star had offered when the twins weren’t looking. She and Siren were pretty much the exact same size and so Otterman figured what the twins didn’t know wouldn’t bother them.

When Dash finally left the bathroom, Theodore came out with Siren wrapped in a towel and Otterman held out the clothes. Siren's hair was combed out and he was clean, but he seemed extremely agitated. He was struggling against Theodore and he kept trying to hit him. Theodore ignored the attacks and simply ushered his brother into the room with the rest of the team.

“Is our room the one in the very back?” Theodore asked, “I think Del has had a bit too much excitement for the day... He’s started biting...”

“Yeah, it’s the one in the very back with the King-size bed,” Otterman answered, handing over the change of clothes.

“Okay, thanks,” Theodore said, quickly ushering Siren out of the room.

“Sven?” Moose Boy asked, “Why exactly are we in Canada?”

“It’s random and safe here,” Otterman replied, looking a bit evasive and guilty.

Everyone else picked up on it instantly and Dash narrowed his eyes.

“Why **here** though?” Dash demanded.

“Is there anything you’re not telling us, Sven?” Crackle said, giving him a warning look.

Otterman removed his glasses and then seemed entirely engrossed in wiping them clean.

“Sven…?” Crackle questioned suspiciously, “What did you do?”

Otterman let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. “Our funds are extremely low and there’s no way we could afford to stay in hiding without a bit of help…”

“What kind of help?” Neal asked with a frown.

Otterman averted his gaze sheepishly. “I may have arranged for us to...take on a few missions during our vacation…”

“WHAT?” Dash cried out.

“Aw man, not on our vacation!” Neal whined.

“Not cool, Sven,” Paper Star snapped, pinching his arm hard.

“Ow!” Otterman protested, edging away from her, “Sorry, but I thought it would be the best thing considering our financial crisis!”

Crackle crossed his arms. “And when exactly were you planning on telling us about this?”

Otterman’s cheeks coloured. “...when it was time for the mission?”

Crackle heaved a sigh. “Sven, I turned over all financial control to you, but **not** the leadership of this team. You do **not** take on missions without checking with me first, do you understand?”

Otterman meekly nodded.

“Who did you accept these missions from?”

“Aunt Alexandria,” Otterman replied, “She gave us the first mission and will contact us with more when they come up.”

Crackle wasn’t happy that this was kept from him, but he knew Otterman was just trying to do the right thing. He heaved a sigh and gave him an annoyed look. “What’s the first mission?”

“We have to destroy a sugar shack just outside of Montreal,” Otterman replied.

“Ooooo, isn’t a sugar shack where they make maple syrup?” Neal asked, “They make candy and stuff?”

Otterman nodded. “That’s right.”

“Why would The Void care about some stupid little sugar shack in Canada?” Dash demanded.

“They don’t,” Otterman replied, “But there’s a large sugar shack in Vermont that **does**. Apparently they lost a valuable maple contract to this Canadian one, and they want them gone.”

“Geez, I had no idea the maple business was so serious,” Neal commented with a snicker.

“Serious enough to pay us two thousand dollars just to destroy one little sugar shack!”

Dash wrinkled his nose. “Wait...they’re only paying us two thousand dollars? Why are we bothering with such a low-paying job? We could just rob a jewelry store or something.”

“No, we’re not drawing any attention to ourselves by pulling big jobs,” Crackle said firmly, “I don’t want to alert A.C.M.E or law enforcement to us while we’re vulnerable.”

“You mean me…” Neal stated uneasily, “because I’m vulnerable…”

“No, not just you,” Crackle assured him, “All of us are recovering both physically and mentally from the last few months. We will take a couple months off from major crime and use this time to relax.”

“When we’re not burning down sugar shacks, you mean,” Paper Star stated in amusement.

“This is such a minor crime that it shouldn’t even be noticed by anyone important,” Otterman explained, “Two thousand dollars won’t last us long, but it should stretch until our next job if we’re careful.”

“You should have discussed this with me, but I’m going to allow this for now,” Crackle stated, “When did you say the job was?”

“Tomorrow,” Otterman said, “Once we’ve destroyed the sugar shack with pictures for evidence, I’ll text Aunt Alexandria who then arranges a cash drop-off to us.”

Crackle nodded. “Fine, but tell me the details of this mission.”

As Otterman opened his notebook to show Crackle all his notes, Theodore slipped out of the bedroom quietly. Taking a seat on the couch beside Dash, he let out a breath of relief.

“He was just really tired, and he fell asleep right away,” he announced quietly, “I **really** hope he snaps out of this soon. I want the old Del back!”

The others exchanged glances knowing with Siren’s brain damage it was a very real possibility that he would never recover. 

Neal cleared his throat awkwardly and then pulled a deck of cards out of seemingly nowhere. “Who’s up for a game of poker?”

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They spent the night parked in the Walmart parking lot, and it was Crackle who woke first. Getting dressed, he saw it was only a little after six and decided to start breakfast for the others. He wasn’t exactly a great cook, but he knew how to boil an egg and so he found a large pot under the sink and filled it with cold water. Grabbing a couple dozen eggs out of the fridge, he turned the stove on and then frowned. Nothing happened. He pressed and fiddled with the switches but the stove wasn’t working.

“Great…” he said with a deep sigh, “What a wonderful start to our vacation.”

Dumping the water down the sink, he put the eggs back in the fridge and then made his way to Otterman and Moose Boy’s room. He knocked on the door and when he heard a sleepy reply, he opened the door and popped his head in. Otterman and Moose Boy were cuddled up in the bed and Otterman gave him a questioning look.

“What’s up, Graham?” he asked, reaching for his glasses, “Is something wrong?”

“The stove doesn’t work,” he replied, “I was going to make us breakfast but it’s completely dead.”

Otterman sat up fast. “What? No!” he cried out loudly, “No, no ,no!”

He scrambled out of bed and then hurried for the kitchen to see for himself. He turned all the dials, checked the power cord, but the stove would not turn on.

“ _Skit_!” Otterman swore, “We need to make our own meals or we’re going to go bankrupt! We can’t afford to eat out and we can’t afford a new stove!”

“Could we afford to buy a cheap one after we pull this job?” Crackle asked.

“No, I have everything budgeted down to the last cent!” Otterman cried out, “Camper stoves are an extremely niche thing and there’s no way we’ll be able to find one cheap!”

Otterman’s yells had woken the others and a very sleepy-looking Neal and Dash joined them a few moments later.

The twins came out and Theodore gave him a glare. “Shh! Keep it down! You’re going to wake Del!”

“..sorry,” Otterman said, lowering his voice.

“What’s going on, love?” Neal asked.

Otterman simply groaned and didn’t answer.

“The stove doesn’t work,” Crackle explained.

“McDonalds is open,” Neal pointed out, “Why don’t we go grab some egg mcmuffins?”

“We can’t afford to eat out three meals a day!” Otterman said in distress.

Paper Star patted him on the back and offered him a reassuring smile. “We’ll figure it out,” she told him, “We always do.”

“Let’s go to McDonalds for breakfast and when we get back, I’ll see if I can repair the stove,” Crackle said.

Otterman sighed but he gave him a resigned nod. “I’ll go get us some cash.”

Otterman went back to his bedroom and saw Moose Boy was sitting up in bed looking confused. “Are you alright, Sven?”

“We’re going to McDonalds for breakfast, do you want anything?”

Moose Boy was barely awake and he shook his head. “No, I don’t want any food, but could you maybe bring me back a coffee?”

Otterman nodded as he got dressed, and he slipped the cashbox into his hoodie out of sight. “If you’re not coming, maybe you could babysit Delano so Double Trouble can get some food?”

Moose Boy rubbed at his eyes. “Sure, no problem.”

“He’s still in bed so hopefully he doesn’t wake up before we get back…”

“We’ll be fine,” Moose Boy assured him.

Otterman nodded and left the room and saw the others waiting for him. 

“Henrik said he would watch Delano so we could all get breakfast,” he informed them.

Theodore instantly looked alarmed. “Er, no that’s okay. I’ll stay behind while you guys go…”

“Your brother will be fine,” Crackle assured him, “He’s still asleep and we’re not going to be gone more than twenty or thirty minutes. We’ll get out breakfast and be back before he even notices.”

“Why do I need to go?” Theodore demanded, “I don’t want to leave him by himself, he’ll get scared.”

“He won’t be by himself, love, Henrik is here. Everything will be right as.”

“I don’t feel comfortable with that,” Theodore replied.

Roosevelt rolled his eyes. “If you don’t come, I’m gonna order you a salad or something,” he threatened, “Del is a really heavy sleeper, and he won’t wake up for hours.”

Theodore looked conflicted but then his stomach gave a loud growl and he nodded. Walking a few steps up the hallway, he poked his head in Otterman and Moose Boy’s room to make sure the other man was awake. Moose Boy was playing on his com and he glanced up when Theodore looked in.

“If Del wakes up, call us and we’ll come back.”

Moose Boy nodded. “Sure.”

Theodore returned the nod and a few minutes later they all headed towards the Walmart to visit the McDonalds inside. Moose Boy played a game for a few minutes but he was still drowsy. Before he realized it, he’d fallen back asleep.

A loud thump against the side of the RV woke Siren a few minutes later, and he rolled over in bed, still feeling incredibly sleepy. He buried himself in the warm blankets and started drifting back to sleep. There was a second loud thump against the wall and then he could hear furious screaming in French. Siren’s eyes cracked open in confusion. French? Why was he hearing French? He then realized he was **not** in the lab.

The second he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of three furry faces staring down at him. He was not expecting to see cats, and was startled.

Sitting up fast, Siren glanced all around and saw he was in a tiny room that barely fit a bed. The walls seemed to be metal, and he had no idea where he was. Raising a hand up to his head, he was disconcerted when he realized there were three cats on the bed with him. Siren hadn’t seen a cat in over ten years and so he simply stared. There were two young cats, one of which was wearing a sweater, and then a massive mean-looking cat with one eye.

Siren then raised a hand to his head. “Dammit, Numa, what the fuck did you drug me with?”

Reaching out a hesitant hand he petted the orange cat in the sweater who immediately began to purr. When Siren reached for the long-haired cat however, he was rewarded with a hard bite to the hand. Jerking his hand back with a curse, he rubbed at his eyes, still having no idea what was going on.

Raising a hand to his head, he realized his hair had been combed out at some point, and he grew even more confused. 

Pulling aside the blankets, he shivered at the cold air and saw he was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt that he didn’t recognize. What had happened? Struggling to remember, Siren felt his headache worsen and he rubbed at his temple with a wince. He remembered the attack on the lab, a lot of gunfire, and everything burning, but nothing after that. What happened? Who won? Where was Team Red?

Getting up from the bed, Siren fully opened the sliding door and saw he was at the end of a narrow hallway. Cautiously making his way down the hallway, he saw several empty rooms, and then he entered a small kitchen/living space. There didn’t seem to be anyone here and Siren glanced out of the windows. He definitely wasn’t expecting the sight of a Walmart directly in front of him. He blinked in disbelief and then opened the door and stepped outside. He stared at the RV, and then over at the two men that were fistfighting nearby. They were screaming at each other in French and Siren assumed they were what woke him up.

Something suddenly rubbed against his legs and he glanced down and saw the sweater cat had followed him outside. Kneeling down and picking the cat up, he stared into two big green eyes, still not convinced this wasn’t a hallucination. Findus squirmed out of his hands and climbed up, laying across his shoulders like she normally did with Otterman.

“...I’m losing my mind…” Siren muttered to himself.

He turned his attention back to the two men fighting and realized immediately that they weren’t just speaking French, they were speaking Quebecois. He then glanced back to the Walmart. Why the **hell** was he in Canada?!

Knowing that this couldn’t mean anything good, he hurried away down the street, ignoring the fact he was still in his sock feet. His suspicions he was in Canada were confirmed as he walked down the street and saw every sign was in French. It was cold and his socks were quickly getting soaked from the snow-covered sidewalks. He walked hurriedly for about twenty minutes, his headache finally getting too bad to ignore. Rubbing at his temples, he shivered and knew he needed to get out of the cold before he froze to death. 

Approaching a busy cafe, he purposely bumped into a suited man and then slipped into the warm cafe. Opening the stolen wallet to see how much he got, he pocketed the few hundred dollars and then tossed the wallet into the trash. Waiting in line, he studied the menu and had no idea why there were fifty different flavours of coffee. He was still trying to narrow down his choices when it was his turn to be served five minutes later.

[[Sorry, Sir, but there are no pets allowed in this restaurant,]] the cashier informed him in French.

Siren simply stared at her. [[What pet? What are you talking about?]] he responded in perfect Canadian French.

The cashier frowned at him. [[Your cat can’t come inside the restaurant due to health code violations.]]

[[I don’t have a cat,]] Siren informed her impatiently, [[Now are you going to take my order or not?]]

The cashier wordlessly pointed at Findus.

Siren had completely forgotten about Findus, and glanced at the sleeping cat on his shoulders. Her fur had helped keep him warm while walking and he now had no idea what to do with her.

[[..oh,]] he stated, [[He’s a...seeing eye dog?]]

The cashier raised a brow and then rolled her eyes with a sigh. [[What can I get you?]]

[[Large mocha espresso latte with double sugar.]]

The cashier nodded and rang in his order. [[And can I interest you in one of our fresh baked muffins this morning?]]

[[If I wanted a muffin, I would have ordered a muffin,]] Siren said rudely, [[Just the coffee.]]

The cashier seemed completely done with him at this point and she narrowed her eyes. [[$7.95, and there’s no need to be rude. We have to ask every customer about add-ons or we get in trouble.]]

[[And that is my problem **how**?]] Siren retorted, [[I am very tired, very cold and all I want is a fucking coffee!]]

[[I make minimum wage and I’m **not** paid enough to be abused by the customers,]] she informed him angrily, [[In about two seconds you’re going to be banned from this store.]]

[[Fine, I’ll stop being rude,]] Siren stated, not really wanting to go back outside just yet, [[Now may I **please** pay for the coffee I’ve been trying to order?]]

The cashier glared at him. [[$7.95.]]

Siren handed over a twenty and then waited for his change. Once she handed it over he held up a nickel and dropped it into the tip jar with a meaningful look. The cashier simply rolled her eyes and turned to the next customer.

Siren waited to the side and once he had his coffee, he found an empty seat and knew he had to figure out what he was going to do next.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Team Crackle were in good spirits as they headed across the parking lot towards the RV. They all had a massive breakfast (much to Otterman’s annoyance) and now they were all set to head for their mission. As they approached the RV, they were surprised when Steve trotted over to them to greet Dash with a loud meow.

“Steve?!” Dash cried out in horror, “How did you get outside?!”

Glancing over, they saw Hermes was wandering the parking lot and Crackle hurried over to catch him. Otterman then became panicked and he ran for the RV, horrified to see the door was open.

“Findus?” he called out, “Findus, where are you?”

There was no sign of the cat in the RV and Otterman felt himself beginning to hyperventilate. 

“Findus is gone!” he cried out in horror, “Someone stole Findus!”

Crackle and Dash put their cats away in their rooms and closed the doors. 

“Sven, why would someone steal Findus?” Crackle said, trying to be the voice of reason, “She’s probably just hiding under one of the beds.”

“No, she would come to me!” Otterman cried out in distress, “She always comes when I call her! Someone took her!”

“Come on, we’ll help you look,” Dash assured him.

“We’ll help too,” Theodore said.

“Why was the door open?” Neal asked, “We closed it when we left.”

As everyone began searching every corner of the RV, Otterman stormed into his room to confront Moose Boy. When he saw him asleep in bed, he became furious and began yelling at him in Swedish.

[[Henrik, what the **hell** are doing back in bed?]] he yelled, [[Someone stole Findus and you didn’t stop them!]]

Moose Boy jerked awake and when he gave Otterman a confused look, Otterman whipped a box of tissues at his head.

Otterman let loose with a torrent of curses at the other man, and Moose Boy was instantly ashamed as he realized what had happened.

[[Sven, I’m sorry!]] he cried out, [[I didn’t mean to fall asleep! It was an accident! I’ll help you find Findus!]]

There was suddenly a roar of alarm from the twins and a second later they were standing in the doorway wild-eyed and pale as a ghost.

“Where’s Delano?!” Theodore cried out, “Where did Del go?!”

Otterman’s eyes widened. “Oh no! He must have been the one to let the cats out!”

“I **trusted** you!” Theodore bellowed at Moose Boy, “I trusted you and you lost him!”

Moose Boy had never felt more ashamed in his life and he hung his head. “I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

Roosevelt punched the wall hard enough to leave a dent and then the twins ran for the door.

“We’ll all split up and look for him,” Crackle said, “If anyone sees Delano or Findus, use your coms to let the rest of us know!”

Everyone paired up and they split into different directions to begin the hunt. Moose Boy went with Otterman who was so mad at him he wouldn’t even look at him or speak to him. Moose Boy kept trying to apologize but when it was clear that wasn’t working, he fell silent and simply walked after his partner making sure he didn’t stumble into anything.

Otterman was so furious about what Moose Boy had done, that he knew this wasn’t going to blow over anytime soon. Swiping a hand across his eyes as he walked, his vision kept blurring because of the tears he was trying to hold back. Finally he had to stop walking, and Moose Boy placed a gentle hand on his back. Otterman slapped his hand away and turned furious eyes on him.

“No, Henrik, just...no.”

“Sven, I’m really sorry! I swear it was an accident!”

Otterman took a deep breath. “I thought you were starting to be more careful about things, but I was wrong. You’re still the same damn dunderhead who always messes **everything** up!”

That really stung and Moose Boy hunched his shoulders, knowing he’d really messed up this time. It hadn’t been cash or an artifact he’d lost, this time it was a live human and Otterman’s beloved cat.

“I’m going to be really careful from now on!” Moose Boy promised, “This will **never** happen again, I promise! I’m sorry!”

“How can I possibly believe that?!” Otterman said, wiping more tears from his face, “We’re getting married but you still can’t be trusted with anything important! How could I ever trust you with a child if I can’t even trust you with a cat?”

Moose Boy’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Child?! What child?”

Otterman didn’t answer.

“Sven, are you pregnant?!”

Otterman gaped at him in disbelief for a moment and then he let out a groan and clapped his hands to his face. “I can’t...I just can’t deal with you right now.”

Without another word, Otterman stormed away from him and Moose Boy hurried after him. “No, no, we’re talking about this!” he insisted, “What child? What are you talking about?”

Otterman let out a frustrated groan. “I just had this stupid little hope that once we were married we could settle down and have a normal life. Adopt a couple kids, live in a house with a little white picket fence, maybe raise a few chickens.”

Moose Boy frowned down at him.

“I see now that we could never have that life, Henrik. How could I trust that you wouldn’t fall asleep or forget about our children in a hot car? How could I ever trust you to care for another life after today?”

Moose Boy’s expression crumpled. “I...didn’t know you wanted children…”

“Maybe?” Otterman said, avoiding his gaze, “I don’t know anymore….I just...I just don’t know.”

Moose Boy reached towards him but before his fingers made contact he thought better of it and withdrew his hand. He knew he’d really messed up and he had no idea how to make things right. He followed along silently behind Otterman, feeling like a complete idiot. He really wanted to comfort Otterman and give him a really good hug, but he knew it wouldn’t go over well. He had to let Otterman calm down and then he could work on making it up to him.

As they walked along the busy streets, Moose Boy gazed into the shops, hoping to see Siren somewhere inside. He desperately hoped Findus hadn’t been struck by a car, and knew Otterman would likely never forgive him if that happened. He felt **so** stupid and he knew all of this was his fault. If he had gotten up instead of going back to sleep, none of this would’ve happened.

Moose Boy walked in complete silence for twenty minutes and then his gaze fell on someone sitting inside the nearby coffee shop. He stopped walking and gazed into the window and saw Siren calmly sipping a coffee with Findus asleep on his shoulders.

“SVEN!” Moose Boy called out excitedly.

Otterman paused and glared over at him. “What?”

“There’s Delano, and he has Findus with him!”

Otterman turned towards the cafe but couldn’t see well enough to see Siren clearly. He took Moose Boy’s word for it however, and hurried for the door. Once inside the shop, he pressed his com and gave their location to the rest of the team. Otterman approached Siren’s table who wasn’t paying anyone else any attention.

“There you are!” Otterman said in relief, “We were looking everywhere for you!”

Siren’s head snapped around to look at him and there was no recognition in his eyes. Findus leapt off his shoulders over to Otterman and Siren now knew these were the people who had taken him. Without a single word, Siren threw his coffee straight into Otterman’s face. 

When there were no screams of agony from Otterman, Siren realized his coffee must have gone cold, and so he grabbed a butterknife off the table and held it up threateningly. 

Otterman sputtered in surprise at suddenly being soaked, and then he wiped the barely warm coffee out of his eyes. He hugged Findus tightly, and stared down at Siren who was glancing around for a way to escape.

“Come on, Del, we need to get back to the camper. Everyone’s been really worried about you,” Otterman told him gently.

Otterman reached out for his hand and Siren jerked back and narrowed his eyes. Without any hesitation, he stabbed Otterman in the hand with the butterknife as hard as he could and then took off running for the door.

“Ow!” Otterman cried out in surprise, “He stabbed me!”

The butterknife didn’t break the skin but Otterman still rubbed at his hand as Siren fled.

Siren ran face first into Moose Boy who blocked the door, and he was seized before he had a chance to scramble away. Siren sunk his teeth into Moose Boy’s arm but the other man didn’t loosen his hold in the least. Screaming and struggling, Siren realized the enemy had him and he had no idea what they were planning on doing with him. He fought and struggled with all his might, but he was no match for Moose Boy’s strength.

“It’s okay, Del,” Otterman assured him in a gentle tone of voice, “You don’t have to be scared of us!”

“Go fuck yourself, four-eyes!” Siren snarled, aiming a kick at him.

Otterman got a foot to the gut and he gasped in pain, and then he stared at Siren in surprise. This was the first thing Siren had said to anyone, and Otterman stepped back as Siren tried to kick him again.

“You stop that!” Moose Boy scolded, “Stop trying to hurt, Sven!”

Siren kicked and fought even harder and so Moose Boy simply tucked him underneath an arm like a football and then headed out of the cafe ignoring all the horrified stares from the other customers.

“Er, don’t worry, we’re his family,” Otterman explained before hurrying after them.

Siren kicked and clawed at Moose Boy to no avail as they walked up the street, and soon he became aware of more people joining them. 

“Whoa, he’s really having a fit!” Neal observed.

“Is he okay?” Dash asked.

Siren aimed a kick at Dash who stepped back away from him before it could land. Moose Boy held him as easily as one would a child, and Siren knew he would not be getting away. He had to change tactics otherwise they were going to drag him back as their prisoner. 

“Ouch! You’re hurting me!” Siren yelled out, “Stop! Ow! Owww!”

“He can talk!” Crackle exclaimed in surprise.

“Ahhh!” Siren screeched out, acting like he was in agony.

Moose Boy let out a gasp and immediately set Siren down who drove his foot into Moose Boy’s crotch as hard as he could. As Moose Boy hit the pavement clutching his genitals, Siren took off running. 

“Go after him!” Otterman yelled as he kneeled down to check on his partner.

Crackle and Dash took off after him and Siren ran as fast as he could down the street wishing he was in better shape. He slipped on the ice in his sock feet and when he got back to his feet, the others were closing in. Crackle caught up to him first and the second he reached out to grab him, Siren lashed out and kicked him in the crotch as well. Before he had time to lash out again, Dash grabbed hold of him and tossed him over his shoulder. Siren screamed and kicked, but he had no leverage at all. He threw Dash’s hat off into traffic just to be vindictive, and Dash let out a curse as a car ran over it. 

Siren continued to kick and thrash, but he couldn’t land a single hit on Dash. Knowing he was defeated, Siren began to sob, having no idea who these people were and what they wanted with him. Were they going to kill him? Did they work for Vess?

“Del?” a voice suddenly called out.

Siren looked up and his gaze fell on Theodore and Roosevelt running down the sidewalk towards him. He stared in shock and then he began to struggle with renewed energy. He now recognized exactly who Team Crackle were and knew he had been rescued.

“Ted? Roose?!” he screamed out for them, swinging his fists uselessly at Dash.

Dash gently set him down on his feet, and Siren didn’t hesitate to kick Dash in the knee and then he ran for his brothers. Throwing his arms around the closest brother, he hugged Roosevelt as tightly as he could, sobbing in pure relief. He honestly thought he’d never see his brothers again, and he was happier than he could ever remember.

“What’s wrong? Why is he crying?” Roosevelt demanded, “Did he get hurt?”

Dash scowled and rubbed at his knee. “Not yet,” he snapped.

“Roose…” Siren whispered, “I missed you so much!”

Roosevelt’s eyes widened and he and Theodore bent down to his level.

“Del? Do you know who we are?!” Theodore asked hopefully.

Siren let go of Roosevelt so he could hug Theodore and he was crying too hard to say anything.

“Del?” Theodore questioned.

“I missed you..” Siren managed to choke out, “That lab was pure hell. I missed you so much!”

“Oh, you’re back, you’re really back!” Theodore cried out in relief, “You had us so worried! You’ve been with us for days but you wouldn’t snap out of it!”

Siren realized he must have dissociated and hadn’t even known he'd been reunited with his brothers. From what Terry had told him, he knew he pretty much acted on instinct when in a confused state. He hugged Theodore even tighter, knowing now that he was finally safe. After ten years of constant fear, constant pain, and constant danger, he finally was in the safest place possible. His brothers would protect him no matter what, and Siren felt like an enormous weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Theodore planted a kiss on top of Siren’s head and then pointed over at the rest of the team.

“This is our team, Delano, they’re our found family and now you’re part of it too. They helped us rescue you from the lab!”

Siren glanced over his shoulder at Team Crackle and narrowed his eyes to slits. 

“This is Graham, he’s the leader of our team,” Theodore introduced.

Crackle was still in pain from the crotch-shot but he still offered Siren a friendly nod. “Good to meet ya, mate.”

Siren said nothing.

“This is Neal, and this is Dash,” Theodore went on to explain, and Siren glanced over at them.

Dash was trying unsuccessfully to fix his flattened hat and he didn’t seem to be paying attention. Neal grinned at Siren wide, his buck teeth never more obvious, and Siren moved a little closer to his brothers nervously.

“That’s Sven with the glasses and Henrik is the big blond.”

Siren glared at them both, but he didn’t say a single word.

“And this is Shiko,” Roosevelt introduced, wrapping an arm around Paper Star, “She’s my girlfriend.”

Siren narrowed his eyes even further and stared at the arm around her. Paper Star gave him a questioning look, and he turned away from her.

“Oh, Del, you’re not wearing shoes!” Theodore cried out, “You must be freezing!”

Siren glanced down at his wet socks. “Not really...well, maybe a little but I-”

Before Siren had a chance to say another word, Theodore scooped him up into his arms.

“Come on, let’s get you back to the warm RV and then we can chat.”

Siren glared over at Team Crackle, and knew he would soon be leaving this rag-tag team with his brothers. His brothers had always done everything he wanted, and he had no interest in being anywhere near these strangers. He would find out what happened at the lab and then he’d talk his brothers into leaving Team Crackle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Siren was seated between his brothers on the couch wrapped in two thick warm blankets, and he was listening to Crackle explain everything about their team and the missions they’d been on. Siren didn’t interrupt and he remained completely silent, wanting to learn every bit of information he could about these strangers.

When the explanations finally got to the raid on the lab, Theodore took over and told him about Vess’ death and how they’d torn Michael limb from limb. Siren stared up at him with wide eyes and remembered none of this. He’d killed Vess and he’d had no idea! The only thing he could feel in that moment was extreme relief and a regret that he couldn’t remember it. He wanted to know the look in Vess’ eyes as he drove that knife into his chest. Did he say anything? How did he react?

Siren thought of Michael dying and knew that was also for the best. Michael had been too corrupted by Vess and there was no hope for him. He was a monster and the world was a better place without him.

The lab was completely destroyed and no one knew he was alive. V.I.L.E would assume he died in the fire and so he was finally free.

Not existing was perfect, and Siren knew he and his brothers could just slip off into hiding and V.I.L.E would never find them. 

“Volkov searched the lab?” Siren asked once Theodore was done.

Crackle nodded. “They were identifying bodies the last time I heard.”

Siren hesitated and clenched his hands into fists. “...did they find the body of a child in the lab? A small girl about five years old?”

Otterman cocked his head. “Do you mean, Diana Devineaux?”

Siren turned to look at him in surprise.

“Team Red got her out safely,” Crackle stated, “She was taken to the hospital and she’s going to be fine.”

Siren didn’t believe him and glanced up at his brothers. “She was incredibly sick…”

Roosevelt nodded. “The doctors gave her a new liver and kidney, and I think they gave her blood too. She’s with her father now.”

Siren felt unbelievably relieved and he closed his eyes for a moment as he finally began to relax. He’d been sure DD had died in the lab and knowing she was finally safe made him feel unspeakably grateful. Siren normally hated children, as well as most adults, but there had been something special about DD that had made him feel sorry for her. She’d seemed so small and alone, and she had reminded him of Mime Bomb.

“And Yuri? Did Yuri get out in time?”

“Yes, Yuri’s safe and with his team,” Otterman assured him.

Siren nodded, and glanced around the incredibly cramped RV. He knew it was smart for Team Crackle to lay low for a while, but the entire idea of staying together seemed stupid and risky. They’d stand a better chance if they split up, but apparently logic wasn’t what governed this team.

Siren glanced up at Theodore. “I can book us a flight under aliases and we can be out of here within the day. I suggest we go somewhere really warm, but also really poor so that no one asks any questions. If you have a laptop, I can book us flights making sure the credit card can’t be traced. Do you have everything you need here? How soon can we go?”

Theodore and Roosevelt simply stared down at him in confusion.

“Del, we can’t leave yet, we have a mission to complete,” Theodore explained, “We’re supposed to destroy some sort of tree farm thingy.”

Siren shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. We’re leaving this team and going into hiding. I can have our new passports ready in less than an hour once I have a computer.”

Roosevelt patted Siren on the head. “No, Del, we’re not leaving our team. This is where we belong now. This is where **you** belong. This is our family.”

“ **I’m** your family,” Siren corrected, completely taken aback.

“Yes, and now our family is bigger,” Theodore said, “Just wait until you get to know everyone and I know you’ll really get to love them too.”

Siren glared around the room at Team Crackle and narrowed his eyes. “No.”

“Come on, Del, don’t be like that,” Theodore gently scolded.

“ **No**.” Siren said more firmly, “I don’t want to know them. We’re leaving.”

“Come on, Del, let’s go talk about this alright?” Theodore said, pulling Siren up to his feet.

“There’s nothing to talk about! I’m not joining a team!” Siren snapped, “We’re leaving!”

“You don’t understand, Del,” Theodore told him gently, “Listen to what we have to say and we can talk about this.”

Theodore ushered him in the direction of the bedroom and Roosevelt followed behind looking a bit confused. They closed the door and the rest of Team Crackle could then hear a massive argument take place. Theodore spoke calmly the entire time, but Siren was quick to get aggravated. After a while, Roosevelt slipped out of the room, looking rather upset.

“Everything all right in there, Roose?” Paper Star asked.

“Del doesn’t want us to be part of the team anymore and he’s upset that we won’t leave. He and Ted are still fighting about it. We just got him back, and I don’t like that we’re already making him upset.”

“That’s hardly your fault,” Dash pointed out, “He can’t come back after ten years and expect you to just drop everything in your life immediately.”

Roosevelt looked even more troubled. “We always did before...we always did everything he wanted without question, but Ted and I aren’t kids anymore and we’ve made lives for ourselves. Del has nothing left but us, and...it’s going to take him a while to adjust to new people.”

Neal reached out and patted Roosevelt on the arm. “He just doesn’t know us yet. Don’t worry, we’ll win him over. Soon he’ll be part of our little family too. We’ll be best friends in no time!”

Roosevelt didn’t look at all reassured. “Del has never liked people…”

“Just give him time,” Otterman assured him, “Now are we ready to get going on the mission? We’re already really behind schedule!”

Crackle and Roosevelt both nodded and so Otterman followed Roosevelt to the front of the RV to give him directions on where to go. 

Team Crackle continued sitting there awkwardly in the tiny living room, hearing every word Siren yelled at Theodore. Siren was not being very nice in his assumptions about the team, but it was none of their business and so everyone pretended they couldn’t hear it. When Theodore finally left the room, he was looking upset as well, and he simply took a seat next to Paper Star and let out a deep sigh.

“Del isn’t happy...” he commented.

“Really?” Dash replied sarcastically, “We never could have guessed.”

“He’s not mad for real,” Theodore stated, “Just confused and frustrated. He’s stubborn and this will take some time…”

Crackle frowned and glanced towards the bedroom. “Should I go talk to him?”

Theodore immediately shook his head. “No, the more anyone pushes him, the more stubborn he gets. Let him sulk for a while and he’ll eventually calm down. He doesn’t trust anyone new, so this might be a while before he accepts everyone…”

Crackle nodded. “Will he be alright while we complete our mission? We should be arriving to the sugar shack soon.”

“I was going to stay with him,” Theodore explained, “This mission seems easy and you probably won’t need me.”

Crackle didn’t like being without half of his team’s muscle, but he knew Theodore had a point. Destroying a sugar shack was something so basic that a new graduate would be able to do it solo. He could spare Theodore this time, but the next mission might not be so easy. 

Crackle nodded. “We’ll be without Neal as well, and so stay within earshot in case we need you.”

Theodore nodded in return.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Siren was curled up on the large bed glaring at the wall. His brothers had always caved in to his every demand when they were kids, and even when they were in V.I.L.E academy, he’d been the brains of the operation. The twins had always trusted his judgement and followed his lead without question, but now everything was different. Ten years was a long time, and his brothers had matured and grown as adults without him. Siren’s mind had been stagnated while they continued to see the world and gain experiences. They were independent and made decisions for themselves and Siren didn’t like it. 

Siren still remembered his brothers as they were ten years ago, and because of his confusion it felt like it was just months ago. Siren had missed out on so much of their lives, and now he realized he’d been left behind. His brothers didn’t need him anymore and they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. Siren, however, wasn’t ready for this. He needed his brothers, especially after everything that had happened.

Siren had hugged Theodore as tightly as he could while they argued, not actually very angry, just frustrated, and Theodore had been sympathetic but unmoving. His brothers didn’t want to leave the team, and there was nothing Siren could do about it. Siren didn’t put up too much of a fight other than arguing, not wanting to upset his brothers after just getting them back. This would require a bit of planning and a bit of patience, and Siren felt certain he would eventually get his way. 

Theodore had left him to sulk for a while, but promised he’d be back in a few minutes to check on him. Siren laid there for about ten minutes and wanted to rejoin his brothers in the other room, but he didn’t want to interact with Team Crackle. Although feeling a little lonely, he stubbornly remained where he was.

When he felt the RV slowing down and then coming to a stop, Theodore popped his head in the room.

“The others are going to complete the mission and I need to be outside in case they need me. Do you want to stay in here or come out with Neal and I?”

Siren sat up. He had no interest in being anywhere near Neal, but he wanted to spend some time with his brother. They had ten full years to catch up on, and he didn’t want to be alone right now. He would have refused if he’d had to be near the entire team, but if it was just one person then he could tolerate that.

“I’ll come,” Siren told him, pushing aside the blankets.

“It’s cold out so you can borrow one of my hoodies,” Theodore told him, tossing one over, “Your sneakers are under the bed.”

Siren caught the absolutely massive hoodie and was going to point out the obvious flaw in this, but then simply nodded instead. 

“I’m going to help Neal out of the RV and we’ll be just outside, alright?”

Siren gave him another nod.

Theodore left the room and Siren slipped the huge hoodie over his head, the fabric going all the way down to his knees. His arms didn’t come anywhere near the end of the sleeves and so he pushed them up and then knelt down so he could look for his sneakers. He found his ratty and hole-filled sneakers and yanked them on without untying the laces. When he straightened up, he caught sight of his Ipod, cigarettes and V.I.L.E card sitting on the bedside table and grabbed them without hesitation. He was relieved at the sight of his smokes, craving one incredibly badly. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since his last one, but he had every intention of smoking half the pack.

He wondered if any of Team Crackle were smokers and whether anyone would care if he smoked in the RV. Not quite rude enough to smoke inside without checking first, he pocketed his belongings and headed for the door.

Sliding open the bedroom door, he stepped over the large orange cat who angrily swiped at his legs as he passed her by. He glared at the cat, who hissed at him in return. Siren had never owned a pet and honestly wasn’t too sure about animals. Was this normal behaviour for a cat? He didn’t hate animals, he just had absolutely no experience with them. The sweater cat had seemed pretty friendly and so he assumed the longhaired cat was just an asshole.

Siren found Theodore outside with Neal who were both trying to adjust the backrest on the wheelchair.

“Hello!” Neal greeted him immediately, “Awww look at you in that hoodie! You’re swimming in it like a little kid.”

Siren quickly stepped around Neal to stand on his brother’s other side away from him. Neal leaned out of his chair so he could see him, still offering him a friendly smile.

“Teddy told us you like to sing,” Neal said, trying his best to make friends, “What sort of music do you like?”

Siren pulled up the hood and looked away from him. “Don’t talk to me.”

“Del,” Theodore scolded, “Don’t be rude.”

Siren didn’t say anything and instead turned his attention to the area around them. There were several dozen wooden buildings and they were surrounded by trees on all sides. There was no sign of the rest of Team Crackle, but he could see several tour groups and some sort of gift shop. 

Siren pulled a cigarette out of the pack and lit it, keeping his gaze on the crowds of people in the distance. He definitely wasn’t expecting the cigarette to be snatched out of his mouth before he’d barely taken a puff. Looking up in shock, he saw Theodore was giving him an incredibly disapproving look. He dropped the lit cigarette to the ground and then stepped on it.

“I don’t think so,” Theodore informed him firmly.

Siren stared up at him in disbelief. “Ted...I’m a smoker,” he informed him, “If you don’t like the smell of it, I’ll step away a bit.”

“No, smoking is bad for you,” Theodore stated.

“I’ll take the chance,” Siren responded, lighting a second smoke.

Theodore snatched it out of his hand and ground it out like he did the first one. “No more smoking,” he said, his tone making it clear this wasn’t negotiable, “You’ll get cancer.”

“Ted, I’m twenty-eight years old. If I want to take the chance, then I will,” Siren argued, opening the pack to take out a third smoke.

Before he could, Theodore reached down and snatched the pack out of his hands. He crushed it in his fist and then tossed it into the nearby trash can. Siren was in complete disbelief and simply stared at him.

“You’ve now quit,” Theodore informed him, “I just got you back, and I’m not letting you hurt yourself. No smoking.”

Siren gaped at him in silence having no idea what to say to that. He didn’t want to fight or argue with his brother after just reuniting, and so he knew he’d just have to sneak cigarettes when his brothers weren’t around.

His craving was the only thing he could think of at the moment and he found his gaze going back to the nearby gift shop. Would they sell smokes there? He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since his last cigarette, but he’d never wanted one more in his life.

Siren gave a light tug to Theodore’s sleeve and then pointed towards the gift shop. “Let’s go over there for a while and look in the tacky tourist shop.”

“Sorry, Del, but we gotta stay outside where we can keep an eye on the rest of the team,” Theodore said apologetically, “They might need us.”

“I want to take a look in the shop,” Siren informed him, “I honestly don’t give a shit about your team.”

Neal blinked at him in surprise and then let out a snort of laughter. Theodore frowned down at his little brother, having a feeling this was going to be another argument. He’d forgotten how much Siren liked to argue about absolutely everything, and he set a hand on top of his brother’s head with a sigh.

“Come on, Del, I missed you and we should spend a bit of time together. How about if we look around outside a bit and then if everything goes well, we might be able to take a quick look in the shop?”

Siren **really** wanted a cigarette and his gaze was still on the shop. “No. You can stay here and I’ll go to the shop.”

Theodore internally panicked at the thought of his brother being out of his sight and he immediately shook his head and grabbed Siren by the arm.

“No, it’s not safe, I want you to stay with me,” Theodore said.

Siren looked up at him. “What the hell do you think will happen to me on a Canadian maple farm?”

“You gotta watch out for those sneaky Canadians,” Neal teased, “You never know what they might be planning.”

Siren pretended he didn’t hear him and simply let out a deep sigh, not going to fight about it. He followed Theodore and Neal as they joined a group of tourists and he stood there listening to some woman explaining how to make maple snow. He was disgusted when she pointed to a row of frozen maple snow-pops next to her feet and she invited everyone to take one. Theodore and Neal accepted one without hesitation but Siren refused.

He watched in disgust as they ate the treats, unable to believe they were eating something off the ground. There could be pollution or bugs in that snow! 

Glancing around, his gaze went back to the gift shop. His brother and Neal were busy trying their hand at making one of the maple pops, and they weren’t paying him any attention. Slowly backing away out of the crowd, Siren left and headed for the shop.

The store was a typical tacky tourist gift shop and it was full to the brim with souvenirs and other merchandise. Grabbing a Pepsi out of the cooler, he approached the counter and set it down.

“Is that everything?” the cashier asked him with a smile.

“I don’t care what brand, but I want a pack of smokes.”

The lady opened the cabinet behind her and selected a blue package. “Canadian Classic regulars?” she questioned.

“Fine, whatever, but I’ll take two”

Setting them on the counter the cashier eyed him for a moment, trying to judge his age. He looked to be late teens to her, and she was a bit suspicious. “Can I see some I.D?” she demanded.

Siren glared at her. “I’m twenty-eight.”

The woman wordlessly pointed to the large sign on the counter and Siren glanced at it.

‘ **If you look under 40, you will be I.D-ed for all tobacco purchases** ’

Siren had no identification, and he was immediately frustrated. “This is ridiculous! I’m twenty-eight!”

“I’m sorry, but this is law,” the woman replied with a shrug, “If I don’t see I.D, then I could lose my licensing.”

Siren took a deep breath about to let loose a full tantrum at this lady when suddenly there was a massive explosion and the entire shop shook, causing everything to fall off the shelves. The woman clutched the counter to avoid falling and Siren barely caught himself against a shelf. 

“What was that?!” the woman exclaimed, rushing to look out the window.

Siren grabbed the cigarettes and Pepsi off the counter and pocketed both. Grabbing a lighter as he hurried for the door, he could see thick smoke everywhere outside. Opening the door, he stepped out and saw enormous flames engulfing the maple trees in all directions. The large buildings where the maple was boiled were all on fire, and the sky was nothing but grey and orange from the flames. 

Siren stared at the carnage around him and he began to panic, memories of the lab filling his mind. He remembered the fires and the screams and before he realized it, he began to screech and curl in on himself. Suddenly Siren felt himself scooped into strong arms and he looked up to see Roosevelt holding him as he ran back towards the RV. Siren clung as tightly as he could to his brother, already feeling himself calming down. He was safe and he knew his brother would protect him.

The rest of Team Crackle were already back at the RV, and Dash was pushing Neal’s wheelchair up the ramp when they arrived.

“Where were you?!” Theodore demanded worriedly, “Why did you leave us?!”

“I didn’t mean to,” Siren lied as they all hurried on board, “I just got separated in the crowds…”

“You gotta be more careful, Del!” Theodore scolded, “I had no idea where you were!”

Siren didn’t respond, his mind already thinking about the pack of smokes. As the RV peeled away, Theodore finally set him down on his feet.

Otterman looked extremely pleased with how things had turned out and he had his com out to text that the mission was successful. 

“I need the bathroom,” Siren stated, having every intention of smoking in there.

“Right there,” Theodore instructed, pointing it out.

Once Siren was gone, Neal glanced up at Theodore. “You know he left on purpose to go to that shop…” he whispered.

Theodore sighed. “I know he did. It’s not worth arguing about right now though. I’ll talk to him about it later.”

“Excellent!” Otterman suddenly exclaimed, “Someone is going to meet us about two hours North to pay us. I’ve negotiated for gas money on top of the two grand. Once we collect payment, we should be able to stretch our funds until our next mission with no issue.”

Crackle gave a nod and glanced out the window at the massive fires behind them. These missions were a bit beneath their skillset, but at least it would keep things interesting during their roadtrip.

“Where exactly is this meeting place?” he asked.

“It seems to be a hunting lodge in the middle of the woods,” Otterman replied, looking down at his com, “The roads we have to take are all dirt and gravel and so it’s going to be a bumpy two hours.”

Crackle sighed and knew his stomach wasn’t going to like that. He gave a nod and then went to grab some Gravol and ginger from his supplies.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**TBC**

**As always, I will aim to have the next chapter out within 2 weeks. :)**

**Credit for the names of Otterman and Moose Boy go to Animedemon01**

**Comments make the author happy! ^_^**

**Please don't forget to let me know what you think!**


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